To Hell and Back
by AyJay
Summary: How far will Sam and Dean go to keep a promise? A promise made six months ago when their lives were forever changed. A promise that could either kill them both or save one of them before he stumbles into the abyss. Sequel to 'Battle Weary'.
1. Hell Hath No Fury

(A/N: The prologue to this story is taken from _'Dante's Inferno', _the words are mostly his, with subtle changes only. I bow down to his mastery.)

(Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the following story)

**------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**To Hell and Back.**

**Chapter One.**

_Through me you pass into the city of woe; through me you pass into eternal pain; through me among the people lost; eternal and eternal I endure; the fabric of my founder gone; before me things create were none; death, destruction, despair reign supreme; all hope abandon, ye who enter here._

_Over a portal lofty arch inscribed; Master these words import hard meaning; here thou must all distrust behind thee leave; here be vile fear extinguished; we are come, where I have told thee we shall see the souls to misery doomed; whose intellectual good have lost._

_That I wept at entering; various tongues, horrible languages, outcries of woe; accents of anger; voices deep and hoarse; my hands could not block the swelled sounds; made up a tumult, that forever whirls; round through that air, like solid darkness stained;_

_What is it I hear? The miserable, suffer the wretched souls who lived without praise or blame; not true to themselves or to God; their links to Heaven cut with screams, the forever screams of the eternally damned._

-----------

The first arc of the blade swung silently through the air, hitting its mark… like it always did. The second strike was the same…as was the third. Not a scream was uttered and no struggle ensued. Where was the fun in that? He smiled nastily to himself. Change of plans.

He walked quietly to the next room, they didn't hear him enter…they _never _did. He didn't arc his blade this time, he drove it deep into the stomach of the first one he came to…through the stomach and into the bed underneath. The scream was like music to his ears. He killed 'the screamer' quickly, turned and faced the others that were rising confused, disoriented… scared. Just how he liked them. He grinned as he advanced on them…the rush of blood through his veins like a drug. They couldn't defend themselves, not these two…and their fear drove him forward. He finally killed them when their begging got on his nerves.

He heard the others massing in the room down the hall and wiped the blood of his victims from his eyes as he walked purposefully towards them. He entered the room, his mind quickly assessing the situation. _This _was what he was hoping for. They couldn't run, he'd known that, _that's _why he'd chosen them. They had no choice _but _to fight. He grinned and walked into the room…his blades at his sides. Let them believe they had a chance…let them believe they had _some_ hope of surviving this. It would make their deaths all the more sweet.

He let them surround him, he watched as the smiles slowly started to form on their lips, he didn't say a word…they would _never_ hear him speak. The only thing they would get from him was their deaths. He waited. He knew the longer he made no move, the greater their confidence would get. One of them would chance it, make the first move and then, oh then, he would be in be in his element.

He saw the smile widen on one of them, _he _would be the one to start it.

The axe swung towards his head and he ducked it easily, the blades seeming to come to life in his hands, seeming to know their time had come. They sung as they flew through the air, cutting, hacking slicing…bringing with them screams of pain and terror. Each swing of the blade leaving a blood trail in its wake, each swing of the blade creating another victim. They tried to run, they tried to get away but there was no escape. His unrelenting fury drove him forward…there would be _no _survivors. No one to attest to what he'd done. No witnesses.

He stood in the middle of the room and surveyed the carnage. The bodies lay where they'd drawn their last breath, their hands reaching out for something, anything that could have saved them. Their fingers leaving marks in the spilled blood as they'd tried to drag themselves to safety, their clothes soaked in the blood of the other victims as well as their own. The sweet, coppery smell that cloyed the air would have seemed overwhelming to anyone else…not to him. _This_ was what he lived for.

He looked down at himself, he too was drenched in their blood, he always was…he didn't do things by halves. He didn't care if their blood touched him, in fact he welcomed it… it was a baptism of sorts. A baptism of fire. He was roused from his thoughts when he heard a moan. He turned and grinned. Looked like he'd missed one.

He walked over to the man who was struggling to get away, his left leg finished at the knee, his right arm was missing from the shoulder. He kicked the man onto his back, crouched down and stared into frightened, hate-filled eyes and smiled…

"Oops" and he drove the sword through the man's neck.

---------

He turned the key in the lock as quietly as he could, pushed to door open slowly, just enough for him to squeeze through. He locked the door behind him and looked at the figure on the bed, sleeping soundly, not a care in the world. He smiled, walked past the bed and straight to the bathroom, closing the door behind him and locking it.

He looked at himself in the mirror…shit. He turned the shower on, stripped and put his bloodied clothes in the garbage bag he'd hidden under the sink before he'd left. He stepped under the water, allowing the heat of it to slew the blood from his body. He hung his head, the water beating a steady tattoo on the back of his neck as he watched the blood-filled water whirlpool down the drain. He took the soap and scrubbed the last traces of blood from his body, making sure there was nothing left on him. It took a long time for the water to run clear.

He stepped out of the shower and checked himself for wounds. He didn't find any. Good. He changed into the t-shirt and boxers he'd left in there earlier and opened the door quietly. He crept out and slipped into bed, hoping and praying he wouldn't be plagued by the nightmare tonight. He was asleep not long later, the exhaustion of tonight's kill finally overtaking him.

The man in the other bed waited for the steady breathing to start before he turned over. He got slowly out of bed and went to the bathroom. He found the bag filled with the blood-stained clothes and put them back exactly as he found it. He went back to the room and sat on his bed, watching the other man sleep. He'd done it again. Told him he was going out to follow-up on a lead and had done again what he thought he'd been keeping secret. Killing.

He sighed and whispered softly "What are you doing, Dean?"

---------------

Dean woke up feeling refreshed. He stretched, rubbed at his crotch and sat up. Sam was sitting at the table staring at him.

"Morning Sammy" he swung his legs out of bed "You didn't run out and get coffee this morning did you, dude? 'Cause I'm hanging for a caffeine hit"

Sam raised an eyebrow at his brother "What? The rush of last night's kill not enough for you?"

Dean sighed "Sam…"

"How many this time, Dean? Ten? Twelve? Did you even let them fight back this time?" he laughed "Of course you did. What fun would it be if you didn't right?"

"Let it go, Sam" he got up, grabbed his jeans and slipped them on.

"This has _got _to stop, Dean"

"What? Stop killing those sons of bitches? Get real, Sam. It's what we do"

Sam shook his head "No. What we do is _hunt_ things. Not slaughter them by the shitload while they're sleeping"

"I'm sorry? Who are you and what have you done with my brother?"

"I'm not fucking joking, Dean. You're not invincible! You _know _that! You _have _to be careful, if they figure out the one way they can kill us, they'll _come_ for us…"

"Let 'em"

"You're unbelievable" he turned the laptop round "Look"

Dean went to the laptop and read what was on the screen "So?"

"So? Someone _saw _you! Someone saw you leave that last kill and that's a pretty damn good description of you, Dean!"

Dean grinned "So next time I'll wear a stocking over my face"

Sam slammed the laptop shut, grabbed his jacket and stormed out.

Dean slumped in the chair and put his head in his hands. It was all going to shit. The more time that passed the more he and Sam grew apart. He had to try and stop but something drove him forward, something he knew Sam wouldn't understand. He knew he was being reckless now. He'd known he would be. They _both_ knew. Sam believed it was because he thought himself invincible but he knew the truth. It was punishment. Punishment for what he'd done six months ago. Punishment for his betrayal. Punishment for forcing Sam's hand. The external scars would heal, they always did now. The internal ones? That was a whole different story.

The nightmares were the worst. The waking up in a cold sweat, his heart racing, a strangled cry caught in his throat as he tried not to wake Sam, unable to sleep the rest of the night for fear of returning to the nightmare. It was taking its toll but he refused to acknowledge it, laughing off Sam's concern and trying to lose himself in an array of women. Sometimes it worked. His mind wanted him elsewhere though, wanted him to dwell in that time, to torture him with his mistake. And _that_ was why he did what he did. To escape. Escape the nightmares, escape the guilt and escape himself.

He knew Sam was trying to keep him focussed, trying to keep him under some kind of control but when he got the _scent_ of one of them, there was no stopping him. No amount of talking, arguing, threatening was going to dissuade him.

He took his anger, his pain, his _guilt_ out on those he battled. He played with them, like a cat plays with a mouse, making them believe they had a chance of survival; but when they saw the look in his eyes, the pure unadulterated _hate_ within them, they knew that death would be a welcome release when it came.

Demon after demon fell to his blades, he was on a mission and not one of them would be spared from his wrath, his vengeance. _They_ would pay for what they'd made him do. _They_ would suffer as he now suffered and he would not stop until either they were all dead …or he was. Only thing was, Dean Winchester was now almost impossible to kill. Almost.

-------------

Sam walked towards the diner down the block. His anger slowly fading with each step. He understood on some level why Dean was doing this, he knew he hadn't forgive himself for what had happened six months ago. The fact that Dean refused to talk about it, didn't make it any easier either. He'd tried to bring the subject up but Dean had either suddenly found something he needed to 'check out' or had been 'too tired' to speak to him. He sighed, his job now was to make sure his brother didn't make a fatal mistake…and the more time that passed, the harder that job became. If Dean didn't stop, or at least slow down, it would kill the both of them.

---------------

Sam opened to door of the motel room and bought in two cups of coffee. Dean was sitting at the table, going over the letter and the drawing, the photo was leaning against the laptop. Sam sat and handed him a coffee.

"Find anything?" he asked.

Dean shook his head and sipped at his coffee "I know this symbol, I just can't …place it" he looked at his brother "Thanks for the coffee"

Sam refused to take that as an apology "Dean…"

"No, Sammy. I don't want to talk about it. I don't need closure and I sure as shit don't need a hug, okay? I'll ease up a little if it'll stop all the bitching"

Sam laughed and shook his head "You don't get it, Dean. Did you leave even one of them alive long enough to get some answers?" Dean said nothing "Yeah, didn't think so. So don't you give me some bullshit line about trying to follow a lead either…"

"Sammy…"

"No! Jesus Christ Dean, they _had _information. Information we needed!" he shook his head at his brother "Every time we get close, you fuck it up! Enough is enough! You don't want to do this? Fine. Go. Kill as many demons as you need to make yourself feel better but we made a _promise_ and I'm gonna kept it" he turned the laptop round to face him, shut down the site Dean was looking at and bought up another.

"You want me to go, Sammy? Is that it?"

Sam ran his hands down his face and sighed "No, Dean. But the longer it takes to figure this out…" he shook his head "We made a promise"

"And we'll keep it…eventually. I mean it's not like he's going anywhere is it?"

"Jesus, you're an asshole. They saved our lives!"

Dean stood "I KNOW, SAM!"

"Do you? Cause you're not…."

"Not what, Sammy? Not acting normal? Not behaving like I should? Not buying into all that Oprah sharing and caring crap?"

Sam stood up, facing his brother "That's just IT, Dean! You DON'T care! You don't give a shit about _anything_ anymore!

"Bullshit" he grabbed his jacket "I'm going for a drink"

"Of course you are!" he laughed "Doesn't matter how much you drink or how many chicks you bang, Dean, it's not gonna change anything. What happened…" he stopped as his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID "Gus" he flipped the phone open as Dean stopped at the door.

Sam hung up and looked at his brother "She just checked herself out of a hospital in Colorado"

"Hospital? But…"

Sam was already packing, he threw the laptop in it's bag, grabbed his duffel bag and threw it over his shoulder. Dean grabbed his and went to the door. Sam had to smile, when they _did _get a credible lead, it was all back to business. It didn't matter what Dean said, they'd keep their promise, they owed them.

Dean threw the door open…the punch knocked him out cold. The last thing he heard was his brother yelling his name…

_**To be continued….**_


	2. For the Love of a Brother

(Disclaimer: Don't own anything 'Supernatural' related. Do own this story)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**To Hell and Back.**

**Chapter Two.**

Dean woke slowly, the throbbing in his head was starting to abate but his eyes still swam as he tried to focus. He shook his head….ohhh, not a good move that. He blinked and blinked again, his mind automatically taking in his surroundings. Large room, no furniture bar the chair he was strapped to, small window in the top right hand corner of the room, metal door directly in front of him. He tested the ropes that bound his wrists, there was some give in them. He was about to work his way out of them when the door opened.

A small, pudgy looking man of about fifty entered. He was dressed in an ill-fitting suit and wearing dark rimmed glasses that he kept pushing back up his nose. Surely _this_ wasn't the person that had knocked him out? And if it was, when he told Sam the story, the guy had just grown about a foot and put on sixty pounds of muscle. Jesus….Sam.

The little man stood in front of Dean and just stared. Dean waited him out, it wasn't like he was going anywhere.

"You have _no_ idea who I am, do you?"

"Dude, did I greet you with a hearty 'hello' when you walked in?"

"Always with the jokes, Dean Winchester"

The man sat cross-legged on the floor in front of Dean. _Odd_, thought Dean, but oookaaaay. He started to work slowly at the ropes around his wrists, trying to make as little movement as possible. He could feel them working into his skin but he'd heal.

"Seems you and I have a mutual friend, Dean Winchester"

"Awesome. How 'bout you untie me and we'll all go have a drink" he grinned down at the little man.

"Oh, that would be impossible, Dean Winchester…"

"Dude, what _is _it with the full name bullshit?" he grinned "You can call me 'Sir' if you like….or….'The-Man- Who-Will-Kick-Your-Ass' if you don't untie me _now!"_

The small man smiled "Oh no, _Dean Winchester_ that would be impossible, you see you and your brother are going to help me out"

"Are we? Well why don't you bring my brother in here and we'll see what we can do"

The small man smiled again "All in good time, all in good time Dean Winchester" he cocked his head "You are smaller than I thought"

"I'm sitting down, dude"

The man chuckled "Oh, you're going to be fun to have around!"

"You won't be saying that when I kill you, asshole"

The man laughed again "You cannot get out of those ropes, the more you struggle with them the tighter they become, so give up now" he smiled "besides, we can't have our bait disappear. Our bait and our stress release"

"Oh, dude…I don't swing that way and neither does my brother…so hands in plain sight at _all _times and if you could just put my back against a wall, I'd really appreciate it" he grinned at the man as he worked the ropes.

The man reached into his pocket and took out the photo of him, Sam and Jay "Where is she?"

"No idea"

"I don't believe you"

"Believe me, don't believe me. I still have no idea where she is"

He ginned "I could always torture it out of you"

"Go right ahead. I don't know where she is" he grinned "so give it your best shot"

The man smiled "I thought you might say that. So…."

The man got to his feet, went to the door and opened it. An _enormous _man dragged Sam into the room and threw him at Dean's feet. Sam was unconscious, covered in blood and one of his arms was broken.

"YOU ASSHOLES!" Dean screamed "I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

"Now tell us where the bitch is or your brother suffers the consequences"

---------------

Jay sat in back booth of a seedy Colorado bar, her laptop open in front of her as she read and re-read the newspaper article. Jesus, what was he doing? She entered a search directive and sipped at her beer as she waited. She looked up as someone sat in the booth opposite her. Good lord…did she _have_ 'Bar Slut' written across her forehead?

"Well helloooo" said a man who needed to spend at least two hours under a shower and have an introduction to a toothbrush.

"Bugger off" she said, looking back to the laptop as her search results came up.

"_Bugger? _" he grinned a half-toothless grin at her "Kinky one eh?"

She sighed inwardly, what _was _it with Americans and the English language? "Look, I just came in for a quiet drink. Go back to your friends and leave me alone" she returned her attention to the laptop and read. Fucking hell…could he draw _anymore _attention to himself? She shook her head with a smile, yeah probably.

"You're smiling….you _do_ want me" he grinned that scary grin again "And I could _really_ help with that neck boo-boo you got"

Jay stared at him, was he for real? Boo-boo? She shut the laptop, finished her beer and stood "Come out to my car"

The stupid, grinning man followed her out, giving a thumbs-up to his Neanderthal buddies as he went.

Jay threw her laptop into the backseat of her car, she felt the man come up behind her. She turned quickly, grabbed him and slammed him against her car, putting Zeke's sword to his neck "_That's_ how I got a _'boo-boo' _to my neck. You want know how it feels?"

"No! Jesus! No! Just let me go, okay? Please… I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"The next time a woman says she wants to be left alone, LEAVE HER ALONE!"

"Okay, okay…"

"Now go inside and tell your buddies whatever you want, tell 'em you banged me for all I care, but you say _one_ word to the cops about me, I will come back and give you a _hell _of a 'boo-boo'. Understand?" he nodded his head vigorously "Good" she stepped back from him and he ran quickly towards the bar, watching her from the veranda and making sure she left before he headed back into the bar.

She pulled over at a secluded spot just off the main road and got out with her laptop and the bottle of tequila. She sat on the hood of her car and pulled up the results again. She counted. Jesus. He'd killed at least fifty-odd from what she could tell and those were only the ones she _had_ found, she was sure there were heaps more she hadn't. What the _hell _was he thinking? She knew it was just him, not Sam. Sam was too sensible for this. This was _all _Dean. No doubt about it. She debated with herself for a long time before she started tapping at the keys. She read and re-read what she'd written, sighed and put her finger over the 'delete' button, she couldn't risk it. She was about to hit delete but before she realised what she was doing she was hitting the 'send' button instead.

She sipped at the tequila as she looked over the mountain range in front of her, wondering if she'd just done the right thing or whether she'd made another stupid decision in a long line of stupid decisions she'd been making these past six months. She sighed, too late now.

She placed the laptop on the hood next to her and put her fingers gingerly to the mark on her neck. Almost healed. She'd been lucky, if her reactions had been any slower she'd have ended up like the arsehole who had done this to her. She'd have to get better with the sword if she was going to attempt to get answers from these bastards.

She'd managed to _banish_ one of them before his buddy had shown up and attacked her. She managed to kill him and had staggered to her car to wait out the 'healing'. Unfortunately, she'd been found by some freakin' do-gooder collapsed in her car and he'd taken her to hospital. She'd checked herself out as soon as she'd woken and got the hell out of there. She _knew_ Dean and Sam were looking for her…to try and stop her and there was NO way she was going to let that happen. _No one_ was going to keep her from getting to her brother.

-----------------

Dean struggled against the ropes that bound him as the enormous man kicked Sam a couple of feet away from Dean. He pulled a dagger from his belt and held it to Sam's side.

"So, Dean Winchester…where is she?"

"I don't fucking _know_ where she is, asshole!"

"Lex?"

The huge man pushed the dagger deep into Sam's side and Sam let out a low groan.

"LEAVE HIM THE FUCK ALONE! I _SWEAR _TO YOU, WE DON'T KNOW WHERE SHE IS!" Dean struggled harder and felt the blood from the torn flesh of his wrists start to drip from his fingertips.

"Well I think you know a little more than you're telling…" he took out the drawing of the necklace "What is this?"

"You tell me!"

The little man stared at Dean "You have _no_ idea do you? No idea _what _she is and no idea who _I_ am?"

"Jesus Christ, man! What the fuck have I been saying??"

Lex twisted the knife in Sam's side, grinning as he heard Sam groan again.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU ASSHOLE! YOU TOUCH MY BROTHER AGAIN AND IT'LL BE THE _LAST_ THING YOU DO!!"

Lex smiled, pulled the dagger out and sliced Sam's cheek.

"Lex, you'll have plenty of time to 'play' later" he looked at Dean "Time for introductions it seems. My name is Malphas" Dean just stared "So you _don't _know who I am then?"

"Jesus Christ, dude….NO!"

Malphas grinned nastily "I have….no, sorry…._had_ two brothers."

Dean didn't like where this was going, not at all and he had a feeling things were about to get a hell of a lot worse for him and Sam.

"One of my brothers was Azazel….the other was Lothar" he glared at Dean "I see the name Lothar rings a bell" he took a dagger from the small of his back and advanced on Dean "You _killed_ my brother" and he drove the dagger into Dean's thigh.

Dean gritted his teeth and let out a low grunt.

Malphas grinned "Hurt much? Well that's just the beginning because you see, _Dean Winchester_, I can bring Lothar back…and when he finds out your bitch '_banished' _Azazel" he grinned again "well you're going to _wish_ you were in Hell"

Dean's head was spinning. Bring Lothar back? He'd _killed _the demon…but…

He looked up when he heard Malphas laugh "That's right. You didn't _destroy_ Lothar…seems your _bitch_ is the only one who knows how to do that"

"What the _fuck _are you talking about?" Dean asked.

Malphas laughed out loud "She's a _'Banisher' _didn't you know?" he laughed again "Looks like she's been lying to you. Playing mind games with you. What a surprise"

Dean laughed at the man "_Banishers _are a myth, dickhead!"

Malphas stabbed Dean again "She _destroyed_ my brother! Ask the old man!" he laughed "But payback is going to be sweet. You see, Lothar wasn't _banished, _you just killed his body so I can bring him back" he looked at Sam "all I need is a vessel"

"DON'T YOU FUCKING TOUCH HIM, ASSHOLE!"

"Lex, take him from the room" said Malphas with a smile.

Dean struggled desperately against the ropes as Sam was dragged from the room.

Malphas walked to the door and turned back "Next time you see your brother…he will _kill _you Dean Winchester" he grinned "but not before he tortures you. Tortures you until you curse his name for all eternity" he slammed and locked the door behind him.

Dean yelled as he broke his wrist.

_**To be continued….**_


	3. Things Are Never Quite What They Seem

(Disclaimer: Don't own anything but this story)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**To Hell and Back.**

**Chapter Three.**

Jay was driving towards her next tip-off when she felt a sharp pain in her wrist. She lifted it from the steering wheel and looked at it. It was fine, although the ache in it wasn't something she'd never felt before. Strange. She continued to drive as the ache moved down her wrist, through her hand and into her fingers. Shit. She pulled to the side of the road and turned the engine off. She cradled her wrist in her hand and watched as bruises started to slowly form around it. _What _the hell was going on? She hadn't hurt herself…she'd just been driving. How the _hell _had this happened?

She got out of the car and went to the boot, taking out one of her books. She started flicking through the pages as her hand continued to ache. Jesus, it felt like it was broken. She felt another sharp pain in her wrist and two of her fingers before the ache subsided a little. She shook her head in confusion before finally finding the page she was looking for. She read the small amount of text… well that didn't really help. She retrieved her laptop and sent a message to someone she thought might have an answer for her. She got back into the car and headed out again. The ache slowly starting to subside as she began to heal.

-----------------------------------------------

Dean broke his wrist, it was the only way he was going to get out of the ropes. He rolled his wrist around, wincing as he dragged his hand through the ropes, breaking it and two of his fingers in the process. He grabbed the wrist and snapped it back into place, then did the same with his fingers.

He knew he had no weapons on him, so he worked at the ropes around his ankles until he finally managed to free himself. He slipped one of his boots off and took out the paper-clip he always kept there. He went to the door and listened. He could hear Sam screaming. Assholes! He picked the lock and opened it slowly...it was smashed back into his face and he stumbled as Lex entered the room, grinning.

Dean regained his balance and grinned back "Come on, asshole. Show me what you got" Lex pulled a huge hunting knife from his boot "Okey dokey"

Lex advanced slowly as Dean watched him. He was big sure, but like most men of his size, he moved awkwardly…and he was sure of himself, Dean grined, that'd be his downfall. They circled each other and Lex lunged at Dean with the knife, Dean dodged it easily and landed a punch to Lex's jaw, knocking his head sideways. Lex swung the knife again and nicked Dean's arm.

"Ooooh, close Frankenfurter…" said Dean with a grin "But no cigar"

Lex waved the knife around, taunting Dean but anyone who did that didn't know what they were doing and Dean knew that. He waited until Lex lunged at him again and he pulled the knife towards him, elbowing the man in the face and then taking out his knee. Lex finally gave voice with a yell as the tendons in his knee snapped. He pushed forward driving the knife into Dean's ribs.

"You asshole!" yelled Dean. He tried to push Lex from him but the man had turned the knife and it was now stuck between Dean's ribs. Dean let out a low grunt of pain as Lex drove the knife in further

Lex laughed "You're fucked now"

"No. You are"

Dean looked up and saw Sam put his hands either side of Lex's head and quickly snap the man's neck. Dean gasped as Lex' hand pushed down on the knife as he fell to the ground, dead.

"Jesus, Sammy…" said Dean, shocked that his brother even _knew_ how to do that.

"Easy, Dean" said Sam as he gently removed the knife from his brothers ribs.

"You alright?"

Sam grinned "Yeah, fine. Assholes thought I was out of commission" he smiled "this healing thing is _awesome_. Now come on, I got all our gear and I really don't wanna hang around here"

"I hear ya, Sammy"

They quickly left the room and Dean followed Sam down a short corridor and turned right. Their bags were on the floor near a metal door. Dean looked into the room as he grabbed his bag and threw it over the shoulder. Malphas was lying on the floor, facing away from him in a large pool of blood.

Sam smiled at his brother "He was a bit surprised when I snapped my arm back into position" he grinned "he was more surprised when killed him. Now come on"

Dean laughed and followed his brother out the door. Sammy was really coming into his own.

--------------------------------------------------------

Dean was driving as he and Sam crossed over the Colorado border. Both of them had been quiet for a while now. Their wounds had completely healed and apart from a niggling ache in Dean's ribs, both he and Sam were as good as new. Sam was staring out the side window and Dean figured he was coming to terms with what he'd done. Sam really wasn't one for killing, he'd do it sure, if he was forced to but it still ate at him.

"You had no choice, Sam"

Sam just nodded and continued to stare out the window.

"They were demons, dude. They _had _to be killed"

"It's still killing, Dean. No matter _who _or _what_ they are"

Dean sighed "Alright, alright. Subject change. What do you know about _'Banishers'_'?"

Sam turned his head slowly to his brother: "What?"

"Banisher's, dude. What do you know about them? I mean apart from them being myth"

Sam shrugged "Not a lot. Supposedly, they're the only ones that can kill a demon. I mean _really_ kill it. Not send it back to Hell…destroy it. Why?"

"But they're myth right?"

"Yeah. As far as I know"

"But all myth is based on fact. Some kind of fact."

"I guess. But 'Banishers'? Come on, dude. If there were Banishers about, we'd be out of a job"

"That Malphas, dude. The little guy…he said…" Dean shook his head and laughed

"What?" asked Sam.

Dean laughed again "He said Jay was a Banisher"

Sam laughed out loud "Jay? You gotta be kidding me! I mean, she could probably _annoy _a demon into suicide but that's about it" he laughed and shook his head "I mean she couldn't even exorcise Gus properly"

"Well fair call, Sam. She'd never done it before and she was just trying to help"

"Yeah, and look what it did to Gus. Poor bastard was a mess. I can't believe he wasn't pissed at her"

Dean nodded. That _had _been odd. Jay annoyed the crap outta Gus, hell, Jay annoyed the crap outta everyone. He smiled to himself, she was a pain in the ass but she'd been fun to have around, even Sammy had started to like her in the end. But what was it Malphas had said? '_Ask the old man'_. Had Gus lied to them? No, no way. He wouldn't. Would he? Well there was only one way to find out. He spotted a bar and pulled into the parking lot.

"Time for a drink, dude"

They walked into the bar and stopped.

"Oh, lovely" said Sam and they headed towards the bar.

"Grab me a beer, Sammy. Gotta take a piss"

"Stop announcing it, Dean. I already know too much about you" he grinned at his brother.

Sam went to the bar as Dean walked towards the bathrooms and then ducked out a side-door to make the call. He didn't know why he wasn't telling Sam he was calling Gus…he just…didn't. He frowned at that thought punched in the number and waited.

-----------------

Sam looked up from his beer and grinned as Dean walked towards him "You fall in, dude?"

Dean gave him a short smile "Damn, Sammy. That bathroom scared even me" he shuddered "I didn't even want my main man _in _there…but..." he grinned and shrugged "When you gotta go, you gotta go" he picked up his beer, drank and sighed "That's better"

A cheer rang out around the bar and Dean and Sam looked up as a scrawny, pale man of about thirty walked in. He 'high-fived' people all the way to the bar as he grinned like an idiot.

"Hey, Bubba! Earl here wants to hear the story!" said the barman as he placed a beer in front of the man.

"'Course he does! And I'm happy to tell it again and again and again" said Bubba.

"Great" said Dean "Now we get to hear the sexploits of a man and his sister. Lucky I haven't eaten"

"Dean, that's just wrong on so many levels, man" said Sam with a smile.

"Come on, Bubba!"

"Okay, okay…well you know she was smokin'…tight little ass and a great set of tits…and she practically threw herself at me. Dragged me out to her car…we were hardly inside the thing before she had my clothes off. And that accent…drove me wild"

Dean and Sam's ears pricked up.

"She from up north?"

"Nah, man…I think she was from Australia" he grinned "Not too sure" he grinned again "We didn't do much talkin'"

Sam whispered to Dean "You gotta be shitting me"

Dean shook his head "No way. It _can't _be her. I mean she wouldn't ….. do him"

Sam laughed "Maybe her standards have gone up"

"Shut the fuck up, Sam. Be serious. Look at him"

"She was fine" said Bubba "Couldn't get enough of me…had to finally tell her to piss off and leave me alone. Poor thing was cryin' when she sped off in that Chevy of hers"

Dean groaned "No…God…she wouldn't"

Sam slapped Dean upside the head "Give her some credit, dude. And we don't know for sure if it was her" he turned towards the man "Hey, Bubba!" the man looked over "I'll buy you a case of beer if you tell give us details"

Dean whispered "Jesus, _no_ details, Sam!"

Bubba smiled at Sam and made his way over, for a case of beer he'd sell his own grandmother. He took the stool next to Sam's and grinned. Both Sam and Dean tried not to recoil at the grin "So what do you want to know?"

"She have a name?"

"Didn't ask for one, she didn't give it" he grinned again "Didn't really care, ya know?"

"Uh huh" said Sam "What she look like?"

"Dark curly hair, green eyes…tall…" he grinned "she wanted more from Bubba than Bubba wanted to give"

"Yeah, you're a real catch" said Dean under his breath.

"Anything else?" Bubba hesitated "Come on, man….let us live it"

"She had a …a…cut, I guess, on her neck…but don't get me wrong, man...she wasn't like disabled or anything, she was still hot"

Sam took the photo from his pocket "Is this her?"

Bubba looked at the photo andn visibly paled, goddammit, these were her friends "Yeah…how….look man…" he leaned in close "I didn't do nothing with her okay? She scared the crap outta me. Held a fuckin' sword to my neck! Just….look, you can keep your case a'beer if you just don't say nothin' to the others"

"Fuck that, man" said Dean.

"Listen" said Sam "Did you see which way she went? Anything. Anything you can tell us. I _need _to know where she is. You understand? I _need _to know"

Bubba leaned away from the man…there was something in his eyes he didn't like "Aaah, yeah…she headed south…south, day before yesterday. That's all I know, I swear"

Sam nodded "Come on, Dean"

They walked to the door. Dean turned back "Hey, Bubba!" the man looked around "Make sure to tell your friends that that fine piece of Australian ass was actually a dude" Dean grinned "Why'd you think she was so tall?"

Dean walked out to the sounds of laughter from the bar.

Sam was already waiting in the car "Come on, Dean. She's only got a couple of days on us"

"Settle down Sammy. We'll catch up with her….but it's late and we need sleep…"

"NO!" Dean stared at him and he sighed "Sorry…it's just…..sorry. Find a motel" and he slumped in his seat.

Dean got behind the wheel of the Impala and sped out of the parking lot. He looked over at his brother, slumped against the window with that look he always had on his face when something was bothering him, something he wasn't going to let go. Great. Now he had _two_ more things to worry about. Sammy's mood for the next couple of days…… and what Gus had explained to him.

----------------------------------

Malphas waited til he heard the engine of the car fade before slowly turning over and smiling. He wiped Sam's blood from his neck and got slowly to his feet. _He _would lead them to the woman. Then, he grinned, _then_ the fun would begin.

_**To be continued….**_


	4. Issues of Trust

(Disclaimer: Don't own a bit of it, but the story is mine)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**To Hell and Back.**

**Chapter Four.**

So life sometimes throws you a bone. For Jay, it came in the form of a demon that stumbled into her as she was coming out of a corner-store with supplies. He'd knocked her bag to the ground, spilling the contents and when she'd sworn at him as he'd stepped on her bag of M&M's (she'd been surprised she'd bought them as she wasn't much one for chocolate) the man had turned to her, his eyes flashing an angry yellow for a split-second before he'd stormed off.

Bugger that, she'd thought to herself and had quickly picked up her stuff, thrown it into her car and followed him. She'd had to be careful as well, as this was one seriously jumpy demon. He was constantly checking behind him, a worried expression crossing his features time and time again until he'd finally ducked through a broken fence and gone into an abandoned mechanic's garage.

She'd found a spot in the shadows and watched the place as she munched on the crushed M&M's wondering, one; what had this demon so worried? And two; why the hell was she eating M&M's? She'd watched for a couple of hours before heading back to her car as darkness started to fall.

She parked the Chevy not far from the garage and waited til night had fully taken hold before grabbing Zeke's sword from the back-seat. She put it over her back, grabbed her leather coat and put it on. The last thing she needed was for someone to see a woman walking around their town with a huge freakin' sword across her back.

She took another entrance into the yard and crept quietly to the back of the garage. She followed the sound of voices to a back room and hunkered down to listen.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Dean waited til he was sure Sam had fallen asleep before getting up and going to the laptop. He took the photo from Sam's jacket and pulled the papers from his father's journal and studied all three. He looked at the photo, Jay was wearing the necklace, the necklace Malphas had been so interested in. He picked up the drawing and studied it, he'd drawn it from memory and even though he sucked as an artist, he knew he'd gotten it pretty much right.

They'd worked out one of the figures on the necklace, it was 'Heh' the Egyptian symbol for primeval darkness. He hadn't been surprised by that. The other figure, that of a woman, they _hadn't _figured out. He was pretty sure that was Egyptian as well but there were so many of those damn gods or goddesses it was difficult to figure out which one she was.

He put the drawing down and did a search…anything he could find on 'Banishers'…and he found _a lot _of crap. And crap was exactly what it was. There was even a site that claimed to have at least fifty 'Banishers' on its books and for a hefty price, they would come out to your home and rid it of all things 'poltergeist'. Yeah, _that's _what 'Banishers' did, removed kids from your damn tv sets. Idiots.

He slumped in his chair and thought back to the conversation he'd had with Gus. Gus had laughed at him when he'd asked if Jay was a 'Banisher' but when he'd explained how he'd come across that juicy piece of information, the phone had gone eerily silent. Gus hadn't spoken for a long time and Dean had thought he'd lost the connection until he'd heard Gus sigh.

Gus had explained what had happened to him, how there'd been a 'sleeper' in place, Azazel, how Jay had figured it out and then 'banished' the demon. _That_ had been why he was in such a mess that night, not because Jay had stuffed up an exorcism, but because the demon had literally been _torn_ from the inside of him.

She was a 'Banisher', there was no doubt and the reason he hadn't told them was that their very survival relied on the fact that they _were_ believed to be myth. He would have taken her secret to the grave with him but if the demons knew who she was then she was in more trouble than they thought. Dean and Sam _had _to find her. Find her before the demons did. There was a special place reserved in Hell for 'Banishers' if they were caught and from his understanding, Jay was only one of handful that was left.

"So you find anything?"

Dean about jumped out of his skin "Fuck _me_, Sammy!" he turned, his brother was right behind him, his face inches from his own.

"Well?" asked Sam, the light from the laptop giving his face a deathly appearance.

Dean quelled the apprehension that filled him "No, nothing dude. Just a whole lot of crap on 'Banishers' nothin' worth reading" he shut the laptop and Sam's face returned to the healthy appearance he was used to. He looked at his watch "2am…you reckon that convenience store is still open? I've been craving M&M's all freakin' night"

"Get some sleep, we'll leave early in the morning" said Sam.

Dean watched, a curious expression on his face as Sam tumbled back into his bed. Sam had just given him an order. He got up and went to his bed. He lay awake for a long time before sleep finally overtook him. It was a relatively peaceful sleep as well…it wouldn't have been had he known that Sam had sat and watched him sleep the rest of the night, not moving a muscle, just watching …watching and watching.

----------------------------------

Dean woke to the tapping of keys on the laptop. He opened his eyes and sure enough, Sam was working away on something. He sat up and swung his legs out of bed, running his had through his hair, making it go in all directions.

"Already at work, dude?"

Sam turned quickly and looked surprised to see Dean there "Aaah, just seeing if she's left any kind of trail…or something"

Dean stood and laughed "Yeah, good luck with that. You know she doesn't. You pull up those hospital records?"

Sam nodded "Neck injury. Says 8cm cut to her throat but it looks like they've changed that a couple of times"

Dean laughed "I'll bet. But why would she go?" he paused "Unless….she _didn't _go, she was taken"

"Yeah, she was. She checked out against doctors orders, what a surprise. But nothing else except the name of the guy that dropped her off…" he looked at the screen "a David Mellor, lives about a half-hour from here"

Dean grinned "I'll shower and we'll go pay our good-citizen-of-the-year a visit"

Sam stared after Dean until the bathroom door shut behind him. He turned back to the laptop and pulled up the site he'd been studying. She'd left a message, something she was hoping they'd find. He smiled, well _he _had found it…and once they'd paid a visit to that …what was his name? He shook his head, he didn't care…but once they'd dealt with him then he would steer Dean towards where she'd said she'd left something for them. He left a reply on the site, picked up a pen and made some notes in the journal. He put the pen down and rubbed at his left wrist.

Dean closed the door quietly and stepped back under the shower…something was going on with Sam, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it was something. Something he had to figure out and if the gut-feeling was anything to by then he'd have to figure it out pretty damn quickly.

-----------------------------

Jay stared at the two demons who were now tied to chairs in the middle of the garage and bleeding from the stab wounds she'd inflicted. They were glaring at her with undisclosed hatred, what a surprise. The one that had knocked into her even moreso.

She'd taken a spare chair from the so-called office and was sitting in front of them.

"Okay, so we're going to have a little chat before we get down to business"

"We're not telling you shit, bitch!"

Jay smiled "Well I heard enough a little earlier, now I just want some clarification"

"FUCK YOU!" they yelled at her.

Jay sighed "Yeah, yeah….okay…how am I gonna do this" she stood up and went to them "Eeny meeny miny mo, catch a tiger by the toe, if he squeals let him go, eeny meeny miny mo!" she stared at the demon and smiled "Looks like it's you" she turned and took the chalk from her coat pocket and started to add to the symbol that was drawn around his chair.

The demons stared and then started to yell abuse at her as they started to understand exactly who she was.

She looked up at the one that had knocked into her "You know, you really _should _keep that yellow-eye flashy thing to yourself. You just never know _who_ people are these days" and she grinned at him.

She stood and looked at the diagram "Awesome. Okay then…"

"No, no…please…I'll tell you whatever you want…just…"

"Sorry, the _'eeny meeny' _never lies" she took the dagger from her boot, cut the symbol into her hand and started the ritual. He screamed long and loud as he was banished, his mortal form disintegrating in a cloud of black dust, the smell of sulphur permeating the air around them.

She turned to the other demon "Now there's two ways we can do this" she smiled "I love a good cliché. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Let me explain what that means" she moved her chair and sat down in front of him "your friend over there got the easy way…I can draw it out, make it _a lot _more painful for you, which really is fine by me. The choice is yours. Tell me what I need to know and ..."

"You think I'm gonna tell you anything?" he laughed at her "You're gonna banish me anyway, so just fucking do it!"

Jay stood "Okay then" she took the chalk out and started to draw again as he cursed her.

She stood in front of him "I want to know how he's being bought back and I want to know who's doing it"

"I'm not telling you shit, bitch!" he spat at her.

"Ewww…that's just disgusting! First you step on my M&M's then you spit on me? Did your mother not teach you any manners?" she wiped her face with the back of her hand then cut the symbol into her palm.

She saw the fear hit him as she started to speak in that ancient language. She stopped when the first scream ripped through him "I can do this all night, I'm not going anywhere and…" she smiled "neither are you. So…."

"Fuck off!"

"Okey dokey" she stood and frowned 'okey dokey'? Since when did she say that? She shook her head and started the ceremony again.

---------------------------------------------

She ran back to her car. Shit! Shit! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! She threw her sword into the back of the car, jumped in, gunned the engine and sped out of the town. She grabbed her phone and rang Gus, he didn't pick up. Fuck! She slammed her hand against the steering wheel. Did those two boys have _any _idea as to what they were doing? She yelled in frustration. They were such _pains _in the arse! When she caught up with them she was _so _gonna slap them upside their heads! She just hoped she'd get to them before Malphas did.

-------------------------------------------

_Zeke broke the connection as he heard the sound of voices coming towards him. He'd managed to get his sister to the nearest demon but that had been it. He hadn't had enough time to explain to her what he needed her to do and he guessed that she was going to head straight to Dean and Sam. Shit! Shit! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! She would figure out what was going on, sure...but what would Dean do? **That **was where the problem lay. What would Dean do? _

_**To be continued….**_


	5. A Truth Behind the Lies

(Disclaimer: Don't own anything but this story)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**To Hell and Back.**

**Chapter Five.**

Dean and Sam walked out of David Mellor's place none the wiser. The man had just been driving past and spotted Jay collapsed at the wheel of her car and taken her to hospital. He'd thought she was dead, so had been surprised when he'd found a pulse…even more surprised when he'd found out she'd checked herself out of hospital the same day. When Dean had asked him why, he'd paled, looked at him seriously and said the cut had been so deep, he could see her windpipe. Any deeper and she'd have been decapitated. They'd smiled, said he must have been mistaken and left pretty damn quickly.

They got back into the car and sped away from the man's house with directions to the place the man had found her.

"Jesus Christ, Sam. What the hell is she doing?"

Sam shook his head "I don't know, dude"

"I'll tell you one thing, when we catch up with her, I'm gonna slap her upside her head" he started to mutter under his breath "leading us all over the place…lying to us…hanging out at seedy bars….pain in the ass"

"What was that?"

"Pain. In. The. Ass" said Dean.

Sam smiled "Turn left here" he said as they came to a cross road.

Dean took the turnoff and headed up the small hill, the woodland that lined the road getting denser the further they travelled. The sunlight filtered through the trees and speckled the windshield of the Impala and Dean stifled a shiver that ran through him. He glanced at Sam, he was sitting high in his seat, his muscles tense and his fingers drumming on his knees as his jaw clenched and unclenched.

"You alright, dude?"

Sam snapped out of his reverie "Yeah, yeah…just wondering what the hell she's up to. I mean we haven't heard shit from her, we're chasing her around the damn country for what?"

Dean frowned "To keep a promise, dude. Remember? Saving our asses…keeping our souls…nothing major really" he shook his head "Why the change of attitude?"

Sam sighed "I'm just pissed. We should have _found _her by now! You think _you're _gonna slap her upside the head, wait til I see her"

Dean had to laugh "You know she hits back right?"

Sam smiled "And kicks. How're your shins?"

Dean grinned at his brother "How're your balls, _princess?"_

"Shut the fuck up. And it's that farmhouse over there" he pointed to a broken down farmhouse that looked like it hadn't been lived in in years. There were holes in the roof, one of the struts that held the porch roof up was broken and the foundation was crumbling on the same side. The house looked like it was sinking into the ground. All the windows were broken and the door was hanging off its hinges. Lovely.

Dean pulled up in front, turned off the engine and they both stared at the cabin.

"You sure this is it?" asked Dean.

Sam nodded "Said he'd found the car…" he looked around "over there" and he pointed towards an old Sycamore tree, its branches hanging low to the ground. It would have provided pretty good cover for her but some people were just too damn nosy.

They got out of the car and spotted the trail of dried blood immediately. It ran down the broken porch steps and they followed it over to the tree. There was a hell of a lot of it, it wasn't just spots of blood either, there were _pools_ of it.

"Shit" said Dean, that David guy _must've _been right. She almost _had _lost her head. He looked at the area around where the car had been parked.

"I'll meet you inside" said Sam.

Dean nodded distractedly and continued to scan the area as Sam headed towards the farmhouse. He crouched down at a particularly large pool of dried blood and stared at it. He frowned and put his fingers to it, moving it and the dirt that had congealed in it, aside. His fingers hit something and brushed the dirt away until he found what he was looking for. He picked it up, cleaned it on his shirt and lifted it to the sunlight. It spun in his fingers, the light flashing off it and hitting his eyes. He squinted and bought it into the shadows, his mind and his heart racing. _She_ hadn't left this…but he had a pretty good idea who had. And it had been left for _him_. He put it in his pocket, dusted off his hands and went to join his brother.

-------------------------------------

Jay pulled over at a gas station to refuel. She grabbed some more M&M's (what _was _the deal with the damn things!) and got the laptop out, she'd tried to ring Gus again and still got no answer. That man _had_ to invest in a cell phone. She pulled up the site on which she'd left the message for Dean and frowned when she saw the reply. Was he serious? There? She shut the laptop and tried Gus again. Dammit! She had Dean's number but …no, best she just do a face to face. She _knew _there was going to some fireworks when she caught up them. In between bouts of semi-truces, she and Dean did nothing but fight. Pain in the arse. And she was more than pissed with the both of them at the moment. She opened the laptop and read the message again. Yeah, something not quite right there.

She got off her car, put her gear away and headed warily towards the meet, munching on the M&M's as her mind did somersaults.

---------------------------------

Dean walked into the cabin and saw Sam crouched not far from a chair that was in the middle of the room. There was a drawing around the chair, and the smell of sulphur was still strong in the place. Oh yeah, a 'banishing' had taken place here, there was no doubt.

He spotted a large pool of dried blood to the left of the chair and another one not far from it. There were drag marks leading out of the room and he followed them. He found another diagram on the floor, this one different from the one surrounding the chair and there was more dried blood in here too. This was just confusing the shit out of him. He turned and walked back to the room, Sam was still crouched near the chair.

"You alright, Sammy?"

Sam jumped and turned "Shit! Don't _fucking _do that!" he stood "And why'd you come in the back way?"

Dean cocked his head at his brother "Didn't, dude. You _sure _you're alright?"

He nodded "I don't like it here. Bad vibes" and he stepped away from the diagram.

"There's another one in there. Different drawing…but…yeah"

Dean went to the chair and looked at the ropes that were now hanging loosely around it. There were dark stains of what could only be blood on them. He moved the chair aside and saw something glinting in the floor boards. He took his dagger from his boot and pried the floor board up, grabbing at the metal before it fell to the ground underneath. He took it out and pushed the floor board back into place. He looked at it. Where had he seen that symbol before? It was a chain with a what looked like a triangle and bat wings. A triangle. He stood up, turned and saw Sam staring out the window.

"What is it?" asked Dean.

Sam didn't turn, just shrugged "Something"

They turned when they heard movement behind them and Dean broke into a huge grin.

"Don't make me slap that grin off your face, Dean" she couldn't help but grin back.

He laughed "Don't make me stab you, Jay"

"You mean with a knife right?" he raised an eyebrow at her and she laughed "Hey, Sam"

"Where the _hell _have you been, Jay?"

"Here and there. Just trying to sort some stuff out. You?"

"Chasing after your damn ass for six _fucking _months!"

"Settle down, Sammy. She's here now…"

"You alright, Sam?" she asked as she moved into the room, heading over to the diagram she'd drawn on the floor.

"I'm fine! I'm just _pissed_ at you is all"

"Uh huh. I see that" she looked at the diagram then back up at them "Interesting drawing. Who did it?"

Dean looked at her quizzically "Aaahh…."

"Was it you, Sam?" he shook his head at her "No, didn't think so"

"Jay…" started Dean.

"Got your message, Sam. Must say I was a little surprised as I'd left my message for your brother"

"What message?" asked Dean "What the _hell _are you talking about?" he turned to Sam, he was glaring at Jay "Sammy?"

"She doesn't know what she's on about" said Sam.

Jay laughed "Okey dokey…" she shook her head "Jesus, why do I keep _saying_ that?" she leaned back against the wall, reached into her pocket, took out the bag of M&M's and threw a handful into her mouth. "You know…sorry" she finished chewing "You know…I had a lot of time to think on my way here"

"Did you now?" said Sam.

"Uh huh" she threw another handful of M&M's into her mouth as Dean watched the interplay between his brother and Jay "And I got to thinking…why would Sam answer my message and not Dean; and why would Sam want to meet me here? Here of all places"

"That guy that took you to the hospital told us where he found you. We've only been here for like a half hour" said Dean.

"Now _that's _interesting, cause Sam sent me the message about…" she looked at her watch "four hours ago"

Dean turned to Sam again "Sam? What the _fuck _is going on?"

"Tell him, Sam" she ate another handful of M&M's before screwing up her face and putting the packet back in her coat.

"Yeah, tell me Sam. 'Cause you've been acting all weird and shit lately…"

"Shut up, Dean"

"I'm guessing you had a little meeting with someone called Malphas then?"

Dean stared her "How'd you know?"

"Had myself a chat with one of his buddies" she looked at Sam "Didn't end well for him" Sam glared at her "Squealed like a pig he did"

"Alright! What the FUCK is going on?"

"Tell me, Dean. Were you with Sam the whole time?"

Dean stared at her and shook his head "You're insane"

She smiled "Maybe…but I know what I know" she cocked her head at him "And you should know as well"

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about. Sam _killed _those demons!"

"Did he? You sure about that?" she asked as she pushed herself off the wall "Might be an idea to step away from him Dean"

"You don't know what you're talking about, Jay. I _saw _them. I _saw_ Sam snap the neck of one of them"

"Snapping their necks doesn't kill them Dean. Just puts them out of commission for a while. You gotta take their heads off, you know that" she looked at Sam "Right?"

"Listen, Jay…I spoke with Gus…"

Sam turned to him "You did _what?"_

Dean ignored him "I know you _think _you know what you're talking about…but there is NO way what you're saying is true. I _saw _those demons. They were dead. No doubt about it"

Sam grinned "Come on, Jay. It's me. You know that"

"Yeah, you're in there somewhere, Sam. I know that. But …"

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE, JAY! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" yelled Dean.

Jay drew her sword "Step away from him, Dean"

"NO FUCKING WAY! PUT YOUR GODDAMN SWORD DOWN!" he shook his head at her and stood in front of his brother "You've seriously lost the plot, Jay"

"Maybe…but _this_ I know, Dean"

He shook his head "No. Look, put the sword down. Me and Sam will help you find a way to get to Zeke, I promise …you're just stressed and …"

The sound of the bullet stopped him mid-sentence… as did the knife that was now held to his throat.

"Sammy?"

He felt the hot breath of his brother at his ear "You should have listened to her, Dean Winchester"

Jay looked up at Dean from the floor; the blood seeping from her chest wound "You believe me now?"

_**To be continued….**_


	6. A Race Against Time

(Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the following story)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**To Hell and Back.**

**Chapter Six.**

Dean stood as still as possible; this wasn't Sam mucking around, the knife was held expertly at his throat and a move in either direction would cut cleanly through his jugular. Jay lay on the floor, a bullet wound to the right side of her chest, the blood starting to pool underneath her as she struggled to push herself from the floor.

"Sammy…what the _hell_ are you doing?" he flinched as the knife broke the skin.

"'_Sammy'_ is having a…sleep" whispered Sam into Dean's ear, he laughed softly "actually, no…he's screaming his fucking head off at the moment and it's starting to piss me off some"

"SAM!" yelled Jay "PULL HIM BACK!" she struggled to get into a sitting position.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, BITCH" he pushed the knife deeper into Dean's neck and grinned at her "Or your boyfriend here's gonna have another smile"

"He's NOT my boyfriend, HE'S A PAIN IN MY ARSE!" she yelled.

"Oh, _nice_…thanks" croaked out Dean "You see a big fucking knife at my throat, Jay?"

"You see a goddamn _bullet _wound in my chest, Dean! You're a fucking idiot!" she sat up awkwardly and leaned against the wall, one hand pressed to her chest the other supporting her weight near her back "You just _gotta _do things the hard way, don't you?" she started to mutter "never fucking listen, always think you know what you're doing…now I got a hole in my favourite t-shirt…" she shook her head "dickhead…"

"Are you bitching? You can't be fucking _serious?_ We've been chasing _your_ ass all over the freakin' country! And let's not forget how you LIED to us…"

"SHUT UP!" roared Sam.

Jay ignored Sam "I _didn't _lie to you…I just…left something out!"

"YOU LIED!" he laughed painfully "What? You didn't think…" he stopped as the knife moved deeper into his neck.

"You gonna shut up now, asshole?" asked Sam.

"Please, do me a favour" muttered Jay.

"Bitch" muttered Dean as the blood started to run down his neck, staining his shirt.

"Arsehole" said Jay "It's your own damn fault, you know! If you'd have just _listened_, we wouldn't _be_ in this shit! But, noooo, not Dean Winchester! You…" she threw her dagger quickly and Dean dropped his shoulder, Jay's dagger taking Sam high in the chest.

Dean pushed the knife from his neck and turned, punching Sam square in the jaw. Sam's head rocked sideways and Sam turned slowly back to Dean, a nasty smile on his face.

"So, here we go again Dean Winchester" said Sam as he lunged towards Dean.

Dean pushed Sam's hand away and punched his brother again. Sam turned and back-handed Dean, knocking him to the ground, he shook his head as his vision swam, he tried to get to his feet but the kick to his stomach dropped him. He rolled to avoid another kick and got to his feet, his arms outstretched, his hands pleading with his brother.

"Sammy…listen to me…" he croaked as the blood flowed freely from the wound in his neck.

Sam laughed and pulled his gun from the small of his back "Oh, I don't think so, Dean Winchester…"

Dean felt his feet kicked out from underneath him as the bullet whizzed past his head. He heard five more shots before he passed out.

------------------------------------------

He opened his eyes slowly and blinked…and blinked again…shit, he couldn't see. He raised his hand to his eyes and rubbed them. He blinked again as the room started to slowly come into focus. He looked around…he was still in the cabin…and it was nightfall.

"SAM!" he sat up "SAM!"

"He's gone"

He turned to the faint whisper and saw Jay lying on her side, blood pooling underneath her.

He moved slowly towards her, his neck still aching and a dull pain in his left shoulder "You alright?"

"Do I _look _alright?" she said with a faint smile.

"Smart ass" he pushed her onto her back and looked at her wounds "Shit"

"Yeah, I'll be alright though…" she looked at him "We need to get moving. What time is it?"

Dean looked at his watch "Shit. Just after eight."

"Okay, so he's got four hours on us. Help me"

He lifted her into a sitting position and she winced "Fucking hell…"

"Jay, you've been hit four times…just take it easy"

"Yeah, well I'll _heal_ remember. We gotta get to Sam. Now help me up" he put his arm under shoulders and picked her up "You alright?"

"Neck and shoulder are sore"

She nodded "He shot you but he was more pissed with me" she smiled "still managed to shoot the bastard in the chest"

He stopped "YOU _SHOT _SAM?!"

"Dean, it's not Sam. It's Lothar. And Sam's body will heal…I just slowed him down a little. Now let's get going"

They walked…or rather Dean half-carried Jay to the porch, the only light coming from the stars and the three-quarter moon that shone high in the night sky.

"How's your neck?"

He put his fingers to it "Healed"

"Good. I can't make it to my car" she took the keys from her pocket and handed them to him "She's about two miles down on the left hand side of the road, parked behind a dense strand of trees" he turned to leave and she pulled him back "and if you put _one _scratch on her Dean, I will _kick _your arse. Now go"

He lowered her gently to the porch steps and she leaned against the railing as he took off into the night. She sighed, they were in some serious, _serious_ shit. She knew where Sam was going…well not exactly where but to whom. Malphas. And they needed to get to him before he made contact with the demon. Lothar, Malphas and any other demon that was there needed to be banished. They knew too much about her and they know had an oracle on them in the form of Sam. They had two choices…either _'Banish' _Lothar fromSam….or kill Sam. She shook her head. Awesome. Dean was gonna _love _this.

She pulled her phone from her pocket and tried Gus again. Nothing. Where the _hell_ was he? She heard the sound of her car roaring up the road and then saw it slide into the property, the tyres spinning before catching again and then slewing to a stop in front of the cabin.

Dean threw the door open and she got unsteadily to her feet as he got to her. He helped her down to the car as she slapped at his hands.

"I'm alright"

"Really?" he asked. He let go and she stumbled against the car.

She sighed "Okay, a little help then"

Dean took he under the shoulder and helped her to the passenger door "There's a blanket on the back seat, put it down before I sit" he looked at her "Upholstery. It was a bitch to get _your _blood out of it, don't want to do it again" he nodded, put the blanket down and she slumped into the car.

He ran around to the driver's side, jumped in and gunned the engine. She hid a smile as she realised their roles were now reversed. It had been _her _that had helped a bleeding Dean into her car that day six months ago, now _he_ was helping her and they were again on a journey to get to Sam.

"He's going to Malphas, Dean" he nodded "You have to beat him there…we have to stop Lothar from making contact"

"No shit" Dean reversed out of the property, spun the car and put his foot to the floor, the Chevy Bel Air Coupe leaping forward. He looked over at her "Why's it taking so long for you to heal?"

"Because I'm coming back from the dead, genius. Now drive" and she passed out.

-----------------------------

Lothar, in the body of Sam, had stumbled out of the cabin as the bullets hit the door frame around him. The bitch had managed to hit him in the chest before he'd run out of there. But _he'd_ managed to put three more bullets in her and one into the asshole that had killed him, before he'd fled. He'd wanted to torture the man, cut into him again and again for killing him six months ago. And the _bitch_…he was supposed to bring her back with him, bring her to Malphas so they could take her back to Hell. A peace offering of sorts, an appeasement for the Big Man Downstairs for Lothar's breaking of the rules during that last battle.

He sighed, but there was nothing he could do with a corpse. Well, two corpses. Those two were as good as dead…but…something was niggling at him…what _gift_ was it the woman had? He couldn't remember and he had a feeling it was something he _needed _to remember.

He'd got into the black car and headed towards his brother…he needed to get to him. He needed his brother to stop the bleeding in his chest. They needed the mortal form of Sam Winchester alive…he had information, information on other Warriors and if the mortal form died, they would lose that. He would be in possession of the body, sure, it would be _all _his but the information, the memories it held would be gone. And those memories were too valuable to Hell for them to lose.

He drove as fast as the car would go, speeding back to his salvation but the bleeding wouldn't stop and he was starting to lose focus…lose concentration. His eyes closed and his head sagged…he snapped them open when he heard a horn. He pulled the car sharply to the right, just missing an oncoming car. He slammed his hand on the steering wheel. Shit! He was dying. He pulled to the side of the road and parked behind a broken down old shed. There was nothing he could do. Hell would lose the memories of Sam Winchester but they would regain a soldier…a soldier with a vendetta. Lothar closed Sam's eyes and waited to die.

----------------------------------

_The blood flowed freely from the wound, seeping down the chest, staining the shirt and pants of the man…a __**river **__of blood, a tide so strong there was __**no **__stopping it. The heart pumped as hard as it could, forcing the blood through the veins, battling to keep the body alive, battling to stem the flow. The body wanted to succumb, it was tired….but the mind refused to surrender. Refused to give into the darkness it knew was lurking there, waiting to take it over, waiting to unleash hell. _

_The heart started to slow…the task of keeping the man alive getting too much to bear…the strain of it causing it to contract wildly. The mind screamed '__**NO'**__ and the heart beat sped up…but couldn't maintain it…it slowed again…and slowed. There were only a handful of beats left in it…five more…now four…three….two…_

_Sam screamed as he felt his body slowly slipping from him, he understood what would happen once his body died and he __**refused**__ to allow it. He'd been fighting demons his whole life, the external ones and the one he understood he was susceptible to…he would NOT let some other freakin' demon come into his body and take possession. He would NOT leave his brother vulnerable, he would not leave Dean alone. He forced his heart to keep beating; as long as he did that, as long as he had time, time for the healing to kick in, they had a chance. He and Dean had a chance. He felt a heart beat…he knew it was his second to last…he screamed his fury as that last beat echoed in his head…._

_**To be continued….**_


	7. Endings and Beginnings

(Disclaimer: Don't own anything but this story)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**To Hell and Back.**

**Chapter Seven.**

Dean had been driving for over an hour, his mind never straying from the thoughts of his brother. Sam. He had to get to Sam. He had to _save _Sam. He'd made another mistake. He'd allowed Sam to become possessed. Possessed by a demon _he_ had killed and whose sole purpose now was to use Sam against him. His one hope lay in the unconscious woman in the seat next to him. He looked over at her and shook his head…they were fucked. He pushed his foot down again and raced towards his brother…he knew it was a race against time.

He looked over when he heard her groan. She snapped her eyes open and sat up quickly, her hands going to her chest, to where she'd been shot, inspecting the wounds that were now closed over. She looked over at him.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah" she pulled her t-shirt away from her and looked at her chest. Great. More scars, if she kept this up, she'd start rivalling _Frankenstein_. "How long was I out?"

"'Bout an hour and a half"

She nodded, shrugged out of her coat and turned in her seat. She grabbed another t-shirt from her bag, slipped her now destroyed favourite t-shirt off and put a clean one on. She sat back down "Eyes front"

He grinned at her "You know your jeans have blood on them too"

"Uh huh" she pulled her phone out and tried Gus again. "Answer the damn phone…" she muttered.

"I can't get him either. Haven't spoken to him since yesterday" he glanced at her again "We had an interesting conversation"

"I'm sure"

"Why didn't you tell us? We'd never had said anything, you know that"

Jay sighed "It's not that simple, Dean…"

"Yeah. It is."

"Yeah? You tell everyone you meet what it is _you _do?" he said nothing "Didn't think so"

"This is different though"

"Is it? Jesus, Dean. I _can't _tell people what I do. One, they wouldn't believe me and two, it's not something you advertise to _anyone_. Do you have _any _idea how much of a target me and those like me are? Christ, you think they want hunters…" she shook her head.

"Jay…"

"Nope, not gonna argue with you about it. And just quietly, what did you say to Gus when he told you?"

He smiled "I asked him if he'd started drinking again"

She laughed "Well there you go" she looked at him "Where are we going?"

"Don't know the name of the town, some shitty place just over the Utah border" he looked at his watch "Should be there in an hour or so"

She turned in her seat "Dean, I need to explain something to you..."

He shook his head "No. You're not killing him. We'll get to Sam and you can 'banish' that asshole but you're NOT killing my brother"

"Dean…"

He turned to her "I will _kill_ you if you even try it. Do you understand? And I _know_ how to kill you"

"Dean, listen to me. If we get to him in time, I can banish Lothar…and it ain't gonna be pleasant, not for Sam and not for you either. It's _hard_ to watch. But if we miss him…if he gets to Malphas, where do you think they're gonna go?"

"We'll get to him"

"Dean…"

"We'll GET to him" and he pushed his foot down hard on the accelerator again, the Chevy leaping forward, the sound of her engine echoing the roar he felt in his mind.

-------------------------------------

_Sam screamed as his heart made its final beat…NO! His mind refused to die but his body had other plans. He started to feel himself being pulled away, pulled away from himself and he screamed in defiance. He would NOT go, he would NOT leave his brother. But there was little he could do, the healing wasn't working fast enough…not fast enough to keep __**him, Sam**__, in control…the demon would now be in possession of him. _

_He screamed his rage, his rage at the demon that possessed him, his rage at Jay for shooting him, his rage at himself for not being able to stop the 'hosting' and his rage at being unable to stay alive. _

_He felt himself being pulled away…then stopped. He felt another pull but it did nothing, he was stuck. He sensed what felt like hands at his back, pushing him forward, pushing him back towards himself. He gave himself over to those hands, allowing them to lead him back. He felt other hands tearing at him, trying to pull him back, back to oblivion, they tore at him and he screamed as their fingers tore into the flesh of his mind. Grabbing, wrenching, **dragging **at him. Their howls of frustration echoing loudly in his mind as the hands at his back forced him forward. _

_He was taken to a small part of his mind and understood this was where he was safe, where he would find refuge until they came for him. Until then, he was to stay quiet, stay quiet and watch. He listened as he heard his first heart beat…then another and another. He was back, he was back and the demon didn't know. _

_Now Sam was the 'sleeper' and never before had he been more dangerous._

-----------------------------------

Jay and Dean drove in silence. It was an uncomfortable silence, but it was an uncomfortable silence they were used to. Familiar territory. Jay reached into her coat and took out the packet of M&M's and started to munch on them. She looked over at Dean, his knuckles white around the steering wheel, his jaw was clenched and his eyes focussed on the road. His mind, she knew, was focussed elsewhere.

She sighed, it was her turn to play peace-maker "Want some?"

He glanced at the packet and grabbed a handful, throwing them into his mouth, still refusing to look at her.

"Take the packet, I've been _craving _the damn things for some ungodly reason and that's my fifth packet. If I keep going, my teeth are gonna fall out"

She saw him turn slowly towards her, a small smile playing around his lips "Then you'd have something in common with Bubba"

"Bubba?"

Dean couldn't help himself, he grinned. He _wanted_ to stay pissed at her but the chance to, as she liked to say, _take the piss_, was too good an opportunity to pass up "You know, Bubba? Man of your dreams, hangs out in a shitty bar, needs a good flea wash, _amazing _set of chompers…" he grinned "Heard you banged him stupid"

Jay stared at him incredulously "His name was _Bubba?"_

He laughed, trust her to be more concerned about his _name_ than the fact he was bragging to his buddies about screwing her.

She shook her head and tried not to smile "Of course it was." Looked like he'd taken her up on the offer to tell people he'd banged her, she screwed up her face in disgust.

Dean laughed again "Yeah, me and Sam had that same look on our faces when we heard it too"

"Jesus, he's like a local legend now right? One of the few that _isn't _banging a sibling in that shitty town" she shuddered.

Dean shook his head "Nope. Set it right for you"

She raised an eyebrow at him "Did you defend my crappy reputation, Dean? Awww, you _do _care" she grinned "Told his buddies I wouldn't degrade myself like that, did you?"

He laughed "Nope. Told 'em you were a dude"

She stared at him as he laughed his arse off. The bugger had too. She shook her head at him with a smile, oh payback was gonna be a bitch.

------------------------------

Lothar woke slowly, his mind creeping back into consciousness, searching…searching for any sign of Sam Winchester. He didn't know whether to be pissed or pleased when he found none. He put his hand to his chest and opened his shirt, nothing but a scar. A scar and a dull ache. He shook his head as his mind started to fully waken, to investigate its new host, adapt to it. He sat for a few minutes as his body started to accept its new owner, he smiled, started the car and headed back to his brother. It wasn't exactly the way they'd planned things but, he shrugged, Malphas would know what to do. He _always _knew what to do.

He arrived at the warehouse two hours later and got warily out of the car. It was dark and he had no weapons on him. He'd checked the car earlier and had found nothing, which he thought was odd. He guessed there _were_ weapons in there somewhere but he hadn't wanted to waste time looking, his main objective was getting to Malphas.

He was a foot from the door when it was opened suddenly, a sword appearing out of the darkness within and stopping millimetres from his throat.

"Lex! It's me! Lothar! Put your fucking sword down! NOW! That's an order!" he saw the demon hesitate "THAT'S AN ORDER!"

Lex lowered the sword and Lothar pushed past him, taking the sword as his own on the way through "Where is my brother?"

"Follow me, sir"

Lothar followed Lex to the room…the room of his rebirth. Malphas was going over some books and looked up when Sam entered the room.

"Lothar?"

Sam smiled "Malphas. It is good to see you again, brother"

Malphas smiled "You too, Lothar. You have the other two?"

He shook his head slowly "The woman knew I was there, I killed her and that Dean Winchester but the bitch shot me. I had to leave…I'm sorry, brother" he lowered his head "the mortal died…we have lost all he held" he raised his head and smiled "But now _I _control this form completely"

Malphas was staring at Lothar "You _killed_ them? Are you sure?" he walked quickly towards his brother, grabbing him by the shirt and pulling his face to his "ARE YOU SURE?!"

He nodded "Shot the bitch four times in the chest and the man, slit his throat and shot him as well"

Malphas threw his brother to the floor "YOU IDIOT!" he turned to Lex "Lex, pack our gear. We leave now …NOW!!"

Lothar picked himself up as Lex fled the room "Malphas…I know you said we needed the woman…but…it couldn't be helped…"

Malphas turned and backhanded his brother, knocking him the floor again, he stood over him, breathing heavily, his face filled with rage "THEY HEAL, LOTHAR! UNLESS YOU TAKE THEIR HEADS OFF, THEY HEAL!"

Lothar stared at his brother…_that's _what he'd forgotten, that was the memory that had been niggling at him. He _hadn't _killed them which meant they were coming. He stood up "Then we stay and we fight!"

Malphas shook his head "No, we go home and we make plans. They don't know that the mortal is dead. They will _come _for him, believing they can save him" he sneered at his brother "You have just become bait"

----------------------------

Dean and Jay stood staring at the warehouse as the last of the flames licked at its burnt out shell. The slow hissing of fractured wood as it cooled and the steady cracking of the stressed, black frame, the only other things that could be heard above the occasional crash as part of the building caved in on itself. Wispy white plumes of smoke curled into the night sky as hunter and banisher stared at the skeletal remains of the structure.

They'd been too late. They'd missed them. They knew Sam had made it back here, Dean had seen the familiar tyre tracks of the Impala. They walked towards the building, each going their separate ways, looking for something, for anything that would give them a clue as to where they'd gone, even though, deep down, they both knew.

Jay was walking round the back of the building when she noticed something glinting in the soot covered earth. She crouched down and brushed to dirt away and picked it up, brushing it clean with her fingers. She held it up to the moonlight…shit. She got up and jogged back to her car.

She came round the side and saw Dean leaning inside her car.

"Dean…I found…"

He turned quickly and slammed her against the door "He's dead!" he put Zeke's sword to her throat "Sammy's dead! And _you _killed him!"

"No, Dean. He _isn't…"_

He leaned in close "You _smell _that, Jay? You _smell_ the cooked flesh? THAT'S MY BROTHER!"

_**To be continued….**_


	8. An Uneasy Alliance

(Disclaimer: Don't own anything but this story)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**To Hell and Back.**

**Chapter Eight.**

Malphas and Lothar, in the body of Sam, stood in front of the arroyo that lay deep in the desert. It had been difficult to find, _all_ the entrances to their home were difficult to find. They were in locations that were rarely travelled and hidden so well to ensure they weren't just stumbled upon by unsuspecting mortals. The few that _had _made the mistake of finding their way in, well, Hell had a whole new meaning for them now.

"I still think we should have stayed and fought them, brother" said Lothar. He was still pissed that the memory of their healing had eluded him. He was pretty sure Sam Winchester had had something to do with that, but that was all beside the point now. Sam Winchester was dead and he, Lothar would use his body to get to his brother and the bitch.

"No, Lothar. This will work much better. We _know _she is looking for a way to her brother, so let's bring her. And if Dean Winchester believes that his brother is still alive then he will come too" he smiled "And once they pass through The Gates voluntarily…well, then there is _no_ going back"

"They don't know _how_, Malphas" said Lothar "She'd have done…" his head rocked as his brother slapped him.

"_She _knows how. Why do you think she has the necklace? She just hasn't found the right entrance to get her to her brother"

"But…where _we're _going…" he stopped and waited for his brother to strike him again but Malphas laid a hand on his shoulder instead.

"Lothar, we will make _sure_ they come to the right time" he grinned "then her brother can watch what we do to her. See if _that_ finally makes him snap. Now make the call while I ready the Entrance"

Lothar stepped away from the arroyo and took Sam's phone from his pocket. He found the number he was after and hit send, he turned and smiled as he heard the 'crack' of time and space bending and the opening of The Gates of Hell.

--------------------------------------

Jay leaned as far back as the car at her back allowed but Dean just followed her with the sword.

"Dean, listen to me…"

"I'm _through_ fucking listening to you! We should have just left you to find your _fucking _brother without us!"

"I never _asked _for your help! In fact I _told _you to let me do this alone! So don't you start blaming me!" she stopped as he forced the blade against her throat.

"If you hadn't…"

If I hadn't, _nothing!_ Sam _isn't _dead, Dean! I _know _it. That's _not_ him in there…trust me. They wouldn't kill him. They _need _him" she realised her mistake as soon as the words left her mouth.

He punched her in the jaw knocking her to the ground. She shook her head and got on her hands and knees, the back of her neck exposed. He raised the sword ...and stopped as his phone rang…the familiar ring-tone of Sam's number. He was caught…caught between killing Jay and answering the phone, not wanting to believe it was his brother on the other end. Jay made the decision for him by sweeping his legs out from underneath him and punching him in the balls.

"Answer the goddamn phone _now_, arsehole!" and she grabbed the sword from his hands.

Dean rolled onto his knees, his forehead on the ground, one hand on his balls as he flipped his phone open "Sammy?" he croaked.

Jay went to her car and put Zeke's sword in its scabbard and threw it behind the driver's seat. She reached into her duffel bag and removed her favourite pistol, checked it and jacked a bullet into the chamber as she listened to Dean's side of the conversation. She turned and leaned against the car, the gun at her side as she watched him.

"We'll find you, Sammy. Just…stay alive, alright? Whatever it takes, just _stay alive"_

Dean flipped the phone shut and groaned as he got slowly and painfully to his feet, resting his head against the car as he quelled the nausea in his stomach. He took some deep breaths and finally turned to Jay…and looked down the barrel of her Colt.

"Colt Desert Eagle, fires nine .357 magnum rounds, altered to hollow point. You EVER take a sword to me again and I will empty the gun into you…THEN take your head off. You understand me Winchester?"

Dean stared down the barrel of her Colt and into her furious green eyes. Shit. He didn't blame her, if Sam hadn't rung there was no doubt in his mind that he'd have killed her …and she knew it. What little trust they had between them was now so damn tenuous, one wrong word and it would all go to shit… and he needed her. He hated to admit it, but he needed her to get to Sam.

He nodded "I know where Sam is"

Jay stared at him. The arsehole would have killed her, there was no doubt. And she was _pissed _but she had a feeling that Sam had just given him information, information on where to get into Hell. She hated to admit it, but right now…she needed him. Needed him to get to Zeke.

"Is or …?"

"They're going in" he said.

She nodded "You have the co-ordinates?"

He nodded "He said you'd know what to do once we got there. That Lothar had mentioned something to Malphas about your necklace…"

She nodded and went to the driver's side of her car "Get in. The sooner we get there the better. How far away are we?"

He gave her the co-ordinates "If we drive all night we'll get there sometime late tomorrow night" said Dean as he got into the passenger seat.

"Well we need to make a stop first and we're not driving through the night. Don't argue with me. If we're going in, we're going in with some sleep under our belts, because once we're inside Dean, then the last thing we're gonna want to do is close our eyes"

She gunned the engine, spun the car round and headed off to pick up what she needed for the ritual.

-----------------------------

They'd been driving for a few hours and had barely spoken a handful of words to each other. Dean was kinda starting to get used to that. There really wasn't any middle ground for them. They were either taking the piss out of each other or fighting. She drove him crazy. He looked at the blood that had dried on her neck, the wound was now closed but he knew that it would still be hurting her. Neck wounds were painful for them.

She turned into a gas station and he reached over, popped the glove-box and rummaged around a bit before finding a towel and passing it to her.

"Go clean up, I'll fill the car" he said.

She nodded, pulled up next to the gas pump, grabbed her duffel bag and went to the bathroom. He sighed and got out of the car. It was gonna be a loooong drive.

Jay opened the door to the bathroom and was surprised that it was actually clean. She went to the sink and wet the towel, she knew it had been Dean's way of apologising to her but she sure as shit wasn't going to let him get off _that _easy. She cleaned her neck and looked at the scar, she didn't understand why the scars on her neck faded when all the others didn't. Maybe it was a way of ensuring demons didn't realise that was their weak spot. She'd noticed that the scar on Dean's neck was almost gone too.

She changed her t-shirt and put on pair of combat pants. She was running out of clothes, if Dean and Sam kept injuring her, she'd have nothing left to wear. She grabbed her bag and went back to the car. Dean was just finishing up filling up the Chevy and looked up and gave her a tentative smile.

She tossed her bag to him "There's some of Zeke's clothes in the bottom. They might be a little big but..." she shrugged "better than the blood-stained shirts you're wearing now" she turned and went to grab some supplies.

When she came out, Dean was sitting in the passenger seat wearing Zeke's favourite shirt. She sighed, got in and passed him the bag of munchies. She sped out of the gas station as Dean opened the bag and took out the beer and handed her one.

"I need to make a stop at a place about an hour from here. Get some stuff that'll help us get through without being…noticed"

He sipped at his beer "Do you know what you're doing? And I'm not taking the piss"

She tried not to smile "Well I haven't done it before but…it's been explained to me. So unless I fuck it up royally…and don't say it…then we should be alright. Apart from the whole going into Hell thing…which really is a stupid idea at face value"

He grinned "Are there any other kind?"

She smiled "Not that I know of. Now pass the M&M's"

------------------------

They pulled up outside an old adobe that sat in the middle of nowhere. They got out and Dean looked around, nothing but desert as far as the eye could see and he couldn't see that far really, the only lights were from the full moon and the flickering light from inside the adobe. He looked back at the cottage, it was crumbling in places and had been fixed up with different coloured soil, giving it a patchwork appearance. There was the shadow of a carcass hanging from a Joshua Tree next to the adobe and the hides of what looked like foxes or jackals hanging from the porch roof. He heard the sound of chickens coming from behind the place and wondered just who the hell lived in such desolate surroundings.

Jay went to the trunk of her car, popped it and returned a moment later and tossed him a Browning 9mm.

"Do NOT lose that and do NOT pull it on the owner okay?"

He nodded and put the gun at the small of his back "Who lives here?"

"Someone who can help" and she walked towards the adobe, the door opening before she got there.

"It's me" said Jay. She turned and motioned for Dean.

He came forward and stood next to Jay and looked at the oldest man he had _ever _seen. The man smiled warmly at Jay and motioned the two of them in. Jay walked in and the man hugged her warmly.

"You're well?" she asked.

He smiled "Every day is a blessing, Jay. You know that" and he ushered them into the open-plan house.

Dean was surprised, it was warm and welcoming, in stark contrast to the outside. There was a small fire in the hearth and although the furnishings were old, they'd been well looked after. Jay sat on the couch and Dean sat next to her as the man went to the kitchen and came back with a bottle filled with clear liquid and three shot glasses.

He sat and filled them "Who's your friend, Jay?"

"Sorry. This is Dean Winchester, friend of mine" she grinned "and royal pain in my arse. Dean this is _'Voices that Carry'"_

Dean reached over and shook the man's hand "Nice to meet you…"

He smiled "Just call me George. She likes my Indian name"

Jay grinned "It's cool"

"It is much better than hers" he grinned.

"On pain of death remember, Voices?" said Jay.

"Oh, now I _need _to know" said Dean with a grin "What'll it take, George?" and he picked up the drink and threw it back.

"Wait.." said Jay and George, who then laughed their arses off as Dean had a coughing fit, the liquid burning his throat on the way down.

"That's not tequila, Dean. That's Voices' special fire-water. It may be in a shot glass but you sip it"

Dean rubbed at his tear-filled eyes as Jay went and got him a glass of water "Drink this, it'll help a little" and he sculled the water in two gulps.

Jay sat on the lounge and looked at Voices "I need your help"

"I thought you may…there have been signs, Jay. Things are not right. The portents are bad and …" he sighed and rose from his armchair and came back with a leather satchel and passed it to her "All you need for your trip is in here. There is enough for the two of you"

She nodded "I saw the pig outside. What did the omens say?"

"Tread carefully, Jay. All is not as it seems"

"That's all you're gonna tell me isn't it?" and he smiled enigmatically at her "Bugger"

He laughed "It is late. You'll stay here and leave in the morning. Come"

They stood up and followed him to a door "You can stay in here"

"Both of us?" asked Dean.

"It's not a freakin' five-star hotel, Dean" said Jay as she went into the room "You can't pick and choose.

"I'll wake you at seven" and George shut the door behind him.

Jay sat on the bed and kicked off her boots "Just stay on your side of the bed, Dean and we'll be fine"

He grinned and she rolled her eyes as she switched off the light.

---------------------------------

_Sam watched as Lothar and Malphas walked down the arroyo and towards a ...fractured piece of…air. There was no other way to describe it. It was like part of the air and part of the earth underneath it had been torn apart…stretched…and he was heading straight for it. He knew where it lead and he knew there was nothing he could do to stop his body from entering. _

_He'd heard the conversation Lothar had had with Dean and it took all his willpower to stop himself from screaming out a warning to his brother. He had almost lain voice to his fear until he'd sensed a hand slip over his mouth and he again understood that his silence was the only thing keeping him and Dean alive. _

_Dean and Jay were coming for him and he was leading them straight to Hell…_

_**To be continued….**_


	9. Sex, Lies and through The Gate

(Disclaimer: Don't own anything but this story)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**To Hell and Back.**

**Chapter Nine.**

They didn't know how it started, one minute they were both asleep the next…they couldn't get enough of one another. Maybe it was the realisation they were going into Hell tomorrow and may never return…but they didn't care about the reasoning behind it, they wanted each other, desperately wanted each other, that was all there was to it.

They'd gone from one extreme to the other; earlier in the day they'd been moments from killing the other, now…now nothing mattered more than what they were doing in this moment. This moment in time that seemed to stand-still as their senses drowned in the other, as they forgot about everything, everything but the body against theirs. There was no hunter here, no banisher, no Sam and no Zeke. It was just them, two people who were linked to each other in more ways than they realised.

They lay exhausted in each others arms, neither one knowing what to say to the other now …especially after what they'd said to each other during.

"Aaah, you know I…umm…didn't mean what I said…it just kinda …slipped out, you know what with all the umm…heat of the moment, you know" said Dean. He wondered why he'd told her, he _never_ blurted it out…_ever._ But feeling her underneath him and looking into her eyes, he'd said it without thinking and it _hadn't _bothered him at all …_then_…it just …bothered him now.

"Yeah, umm…I …aaah…didn't mean it either…it…you just say it back, you know, without thinking" stammered Jay. She didn't _know_ why she'd said it back…she'd heard him say it and when she'd looked at him, the words had just come and she hadn't cared, it had seemed right. Well…right _then_…just not…now. What _had _she been thinking?

He nodded and looked at his watch "We better get some sleep, George is waking us in four hours"

"Yeah…sleep…" she mumbled against his chest.

"Yeah…sleep" and he pulled her against him, rolling her atop him as he kissed her again.

--------------------------------

George walked quietly away from the door, this was good. He'd sensed the underlying tension between the two of them the minute they'd stepped into his home and they needed to get rid of it before they went to _that _place. They needed to be _entirely _prepared, free from anything _He _could use against them.

When he'd left them to sleep he had gone out to his sacred site to speak with the gods and they had shown him what lay ahead for the two of them and for the two they were going after. It hadn't been good but he'd been shown a way for them to make it out…for _all _of them to make it out…but only if they listened to themselves…listened to themselves and spoke the truth.

He'd gone inside to speak with them, to try and make them understand that now, more than ever, they were going to need each other to survive this journey. Whatever walls they had built up to protect themselves had to be torn down, they were going to need more than trust if they were to make it back. But he had heard them through the door and he had smiled to himself, if they had said it once, then it would make it easier to say it again…say it when they needed it most, say it to save their lives.

---------------------------------

They woke to the gentle knock at the door and had jumped away from each other as the memories of last night came crashing back. Jay had got quickly out of bed and mumbled something about having a shower and did all but run to the bathroom off their room. Dean sat up in bed and rubbed his hands down his face. Jesus Christ. What had they been thinking? He looked over at the bathroom door as he heard the water start up. They had to sort this out, they were going into Hell tonight and the last thing they needed was this hanging over their heads, like a sword waiting to strike. He got up and went to the bathroom to speak to her. Yeah, he needed to speak with her.

Jay heard the bathroom door open and leaned her head against the shower wall, she _didn't _want to talk about what had happened…it had just happened…again. She guessed they probably _should_ talk about it, get it out in the open, they didn't need it hanging over their heads before they went into Hell. They needed to concentrate on the job at hand. Still… she couldn't help but smile as he stepped into the shower behind her.

----------------------------------

George watched them as they ate breakfast, both of them wolfing down their food and refusing to look directly at one another …although they did glance surreptitiously at each other before looking away quickly.

"Jay, you will need to practice the ritual before you leave today. I have marked out a safe place for you outside"

She nodded as she continued to inhale her bacon "Okey dokey" and she shook her head "I gotta stop saying that" she picked up her coffee and sipped it.

"You two sleep alright last night?" asked George with a smile.

They both nodded, Dean shovelling more food in his mouth as Jay hid behind her mug.

"I'll start now, the sooner we get moving the better" and she picked up the satchel George had given her, grabbed her journal and walked quickly outside.

Dean _knew _George was watching him and refused to look up from his plate. He had a feeling the old man knew _exactly _what had happened last night…and this morning … and the last thing he wanted to do was discuss it with him. Hell, he couldn't even discuss it with Jay.

He got up and took his plate to the sink and looked out the window. Jay was on her knees in a marked out circle, her journal in one hand and an array of what looked like herbs or plants around her. He saw her light a pile of them and smoke shoot out of it as she placed her hand in it, the hand that held her necklace.

He heard George come up next to him and stare out the window, neither of them saying anything.

"You need to have faith in her. She can get you inside, _safely_ inside but there are many perils, many tests that you will both have to face, not the least being getting to your brothers"

"She's never done this before"

"She is more capable than you think" he paused "I understand you were not aware of her calling but that was not personal, it is a survival tactic. You should understand that"

"You knew?" he turned finally turned to George and the man smiled at him "You?"

He nodded "She saved me when no-one else could. My people tried everything but the demon within was strong" he smiled "She just wandered into my camp one day, ignoring the threats of my people and sat down in front of me. She wasn't scared, she looked at the ropes that bound me and undid them. She knew _he _wasn't there right then. We spoke for a long time before she bought me here, to this house"

"Here? She did it here? How can you live here …after that?" he shook his head.

George smiled "This is not a _bad _place, Dean. It was where I was set free" he looked back out the window as Jay practiced the ceremony, making sure she had it right "You have the necklace as well" Dean nodded, nothing George said surprised him any more "Then you wear it, it was given to you for a reason. She will understand"

"Will she? Or will she kick my ass. I know whose it is" said Dean.

George laughed "Probably, but …tell her" he turned to Dean "You be honest with her…honest with her about everything, there can be _no _secrets, _no _lies when you go in there. _That _place is where lies, deception and distrust reign…if you give yourself over to it, even just a little, it will take hold and there will be _no _way back"

-----------------------------

Jay came in a few hours later and George took the satchel and went to replace the ingredients she needed. Jay took a couple of beers from the fridge and went out to her car, she knew Dean would be out there, checking everything, calming himself before they headed off.

"Beer?"

He turned, took the beer and closed the hood, leaning against it as he sipped "You get it all straight?"

"Don't worry, Dean. I won't fuck it up" she said.

He sighed "That wasn't what I meant. I just…look, just forget it. I need to show you something"

She raised an eyebrow and he laughed "Yeah, okay" and he pulled the necklace out from underneath his shirt.

Jay stepped towards him and took it in her fingers, looking at it carefully before turning her eyes to his "Where did you get this?"

"At the house, it was near where you'd parked your car, underneath a pool of your blood. I think Zeke left it for me"

"Were you going to tell me?"

"Honestly? I don't know but George said I should so…" he shrugged "What exactly is it?" he noticed how she hadn't let go of the necklace even though she wasn't looking at it anymore.

"It's what's going to get us into Hell. It was going to be difficult with just mine but now…this will make it easier. The symbols…"

"I know one of them…'Heh'…"

She nodded "Primeval Darkness. The other one is 'Ishtar', she's the goddess for battle and healing…yeah, ironic, I know…but it's the triangle…it's a 'Thaumaturgic Triangle', you use it to open a door between the realms"

"Fuck me…" he looked at Jay "you…umm…know what I mean…I just …I can't believe I didn't recognise it" said Dean.

She dropped the necklace and stepped back from him "It's well hidden, so …" she shrugged, sipped her beer "Better get moving" and she went into the house.

------------------------

They said their goodbyes to George and promised to drop in on him when they returned as long as he promised to cook them up a huge pig. He laughed and said he'd cook them two. Dean went to the car while Jay stayed to speak with George.

"Jay, you be careful. If they find you…there will be _no _coming back for you" she nodded "I know you have to go but you listen carefully, you be true to yourself in there…that is the home of the Father of deception and lies. Do not give yourself over to Him and…" he looked towards the car "have faith in him…he has it in you"

She laughed "Yeah right"

George looked over at the car "Dean!"

Dean turned from the car "Yeah?"

"You have faith in Jay?" he asked.

Dean grinned and nodded "'Course"

George grinned "Her Indian name is _'The Howling Coyote'"_

"Voices!" she smacked his arm.

Dean laughed as Jay hung her head "She was named well!"

"Dean!"

"Come on Coyote-girl…lets hit the road" and he laughed as he got into the drivers seat.

Jay hugged George again and went to the car "Two pigs remember, Voices!" and they sped out of the property.

----------------------------------

They'd been driving for a while and Dean kept glancing over at her and smiling.

"Don't even start. And it's _not_ why you think" she looked at him and he was grinning "It was because…aah, shit, I'm not gonna explain it to you, you'll just keep taking the piss" she reached over, changed the cd and hit play.

Dean looked over at her and stared incredulously as AC/DC's _'Highway to Hell'_ blasted from the speakers.

Jay looked at him and grinned 'What?"

--------------------

They were about a hundred miles from the entrance and night had fallen hours ago when conversation finally turned to the previous night's 'activities'.

"So we don't need to have some whole deep and meaningful conversation about what happened last night 'cause I really don't do all that crap" said Jay.

Dean grinned "Thank Christ for that. I was already squirming in my seat at the thought" he glanced at her "So we …banged each other again…a lot…and said some things that we probably didn't mean and that was probably because we're about to go into Hell to rescue our brothers right?"

"Right"

"So we're good"

"We're good" she said.

They drove the rest of the way in a comfortable semi-silence. They spoke occasionally but not about anything important. They were both thinking of their brothers...getting closer to Sam and Zeke with each passing mile. Neither one noticing how the closer they got, the more they reached for each other.

----------------------

They pulled up at the co-ordinates and Dean's face lit up when he spotted the Impala. Jay parked the car next to it and Dean jumped out before she'd completely stopped and went and checked it over. Jay reached behind her and got Zeke's sword out, grabbed her dagger, her journal and the satchel and exited the car.

She went over to Dean who was at the trunk going through his weapons. He took out his swords and put them over his back and grabbed a couple of spare hunting knives. He passed Jay another sword which she put over her back and she reached in, picked up a machete and attached it to her belt, grabbed two more knives and put them in her satchel.

She took some ochre paint from her satchel and drew symbols on hers and Dean's hands and faces before they headed to the arroyo. They scrambled down the embankment and Jay looked around until she spotted a place where the earth had been disturbed.

"Kneel next to me while I do this and when I swing my necklace over the smoke you do the same, you understand?"

Dean nodded and watched as she set up the circle with all that she needed. She got on her knees and Dean knelt next to her. He listened as she spoke in what he assumed was George's native tongue. She removed her necklace and Dean did the same as she lit the tobacco leaves in front of her. She swung the necklace through the smoke and Dean copied her and a few minutes later he felt the air being sucked out of his lungs. They slipped the necklaces over their heads and he felt Jay take his hand as a rush of air pushed against them. A deafening crack echoed through the desert and they watched as the air…the space in front of them seemed to tear open and they looked into a darkness that was blacker than black. A darkness that chilled them down to their very souls. It was a primal fear that rose in them but the fear was overridden by their unrelenting desire to get to their brothers.

They stood and stepped cautiously towards the opening, their swords at the ready.

Jay looked at Dean and smiled "Through me you pass into the city of woe"

Dean smiled back "Through me you pass into eternal pain"

They laughed softly and squeezed each others hands as they stepped through The Gates of Hell….

_**To be continued….**_


	10. Hell

(Disclaimer: Don't own anything but this)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**To Hell and Back.**

**Chapter Ten.**

_Desolation. That was one word for it. There were so many words that stumbled through Sam's mind as he took in all around him. The minute he'd stepped through The Gate, he'd been hit by an overwhelming feeling of helplessness…of abject misery. It __**hurt**__ to be here, hurt every part of him. His mind, his body and his soul, the soul that was hidden deep within the recesses of that mind._

_Everything that he'd been bought up to believe of Hell, all the stories, all that he had read did __**nothing **__to prepare him for the actual place. It assaulted every sense; you saw, it, you felt it, you heard it, you __**tasted**__ it. It was a place that took your fears and magnified them ten-fold; it reached into the very depths of you, saw your deepest secrets, the things you hid even from yourself and then used it against you. Hell was not just a place it was a state of mind…a mind full of disease...corrupted, poisoned, festered…and now Sam was here._

_The Gates were not literal, he'd never believed they would be. He had walked into the darkness and into a world of bleakness. There were no demons stoking fires, there was no __**River Styx**__, what he walked into was an expanse of bareness. Either side of him were jagged grey rock formations that stretched as high as the eye could see and through them he could see nothing but dull open ground, surrounding by the same jagged mountains. Nothing grew here, there was no nature of __**any **__kind, just the howling winds that whipped up the black sand that covered everything. _

_A sense of oppression overtook him, he was in a place from which there was __**no**__ escape, where those that lived…no, __**nothing**__ lived here…where those that __**existed**__ here, would spend an eternity and more, reliving and reliving a torture that would ultimately send them mad. _

_And as he moved deeper into Hell he __**heard**__ those voices, the voices of the wretched, the voices of the damned, the voices of the insane. Their wails, their begging, their sorrow and anguish, carried on the winds, echoing around the wasteland, bouncing off the jagged crags and rebounding against itself as it built to a crescendo before dying out and beginning again. It tore at you. The utter helplessness of those voices, begging for a mercy that would __**never **__come. For the first time in a long time…Sam cried. Cried for the forsaken, for the ones he knew didn't belong here, the ones that had been taken…one that had sent himself here to save his sister, to save him and to save his brother. One for whom they were coming._

_He sat back and watched, watched and listened as he'd been told…he knew the time would come when he would have to show himself, to fight his way back…to re-take control of his body with Jay's help. But now…now he had to find Zeke._

--------------------------

Lothar and Malphas smiled as they entered their home. They breathed in the familiar and comforting smell of it, the sulphur like an elixir to their senses. The howling voices of the damned that carried on the smouldering wind like music to their ears, sending shivers of delight through them.

They walked through the open landscape, marvelling at the wonderment of their home, the memories of their tortuous lives flooding back and making the smiles on their faces all the more wide. They turned down a narrow opening in the rock face and headed towards the depths, the downward sloping of the earth bringing them closer to the Hell they knew and loved.

It was a silent journey, each lost in their own thoughts. There was much to do and there was much for which they needed to seek permission. Lothar was back and the powers that be needed to be debriefed as to how that had occurred. He'd been bought back early but he had his own vessel and Malphas held a lot of sway, so the repercussions, if any, would be small.

"Malphas, I wish to see the brother of the bitch"

"All in good time, Lothar. First we speak with Kasdeya, explain what has happened and inform him of our plans" he smiled "then we will go and speak with the one called Zeke"

Lothar smiled nastily "Oh, I am looking forward to this" and he followed his brother down the stairs that lead to the Infernal Commander's quarters.

----------------------

Lothar stood to attention at Kasdeya's door as Malphas explained to the commander what had taken place, how the one called Sam Winchester had fought til the very end of his existence to ensure the healing ability of the warrior and his bitch was withheld from Lothar. Sam Winchester's soul no longer resided in his form, and the memories it held were now, too, gone. But the brother and the banisher were unaware of this and they were using that information to lure them to Hell.

The plans were in place and they were expecting them sometime tomorrow. They had put the appropriate incantations in place to ensure they were bought to this time of Hell, the bitch had the necklace and while bringing two of them in under the one 'triangle' would be difficult, he knew they would do it.

Kasdeya had nodded thoughtfully, as he leaned back in his seat, his fingers resting against his chin "So they will enter voluntarily, to rescue their brothers…and we will have the three of them"

Malphas nodded "Two hunters…and a banisher"

"A banisher…it has been too long since we have had the pleasure of torturing a banisher" he looked at Malphas "and I hear that this one has been busy" he stood "her brother has still not broken. This worries me" he stared at Lothar…now in the warriors body, this may just work. He turned his attention back to Malphas "take him down to the dungeons and see what the sight of _him_ does to the prick's mind" he grinned "and it probably wouldn't hurt to let him in on your plans"

Malphas smiled, stood to attention and saluted "Your will" he about-faced and marched out of the room. Lothar following him.

----------------------

_Sam listened to the conversations between the demons and watched as he followed Malphas from the room and further into the depths of Hell. The screams of it's prisoners getting louder, the terror reverberating through his soul. He blocked the sounds out as best he could, concentrating on his surroundings and remembering his way out of this place. If Dean and Jay had trouble getting to them then he and Zeke would find **them **instead. He was in Hell now and he would __**not **__leave without Zeke. He now understood that it was __**Zeke's**__ hands that had been at his back ,that had shown him how to hide from Lothar…and with Zeke's help, he would guide Lothar into treachery._

-----------------------

Zeke knew Sam was here. Had felt him the minute he'd entered Hell. Now he waited. They would bring Sam to him, there was no doubt. They would try and use Sam's form against him, it was their way and he would play their game, he was looking forward to it. He just hoped that Sam would play the game as well. He could reach out to him a little, not too much, it would be too dangerous at this stage to do so, especially with Malphas in the room…but he'd taken a memory from Lothar when he'd been returning Sam's soul to his body. And it was _that _memory that would help him, for Lothar no longer remembered what gift it was that Zeke had.

He looked up when he heard the familiar sounds of footsteps coming down the stone stairs. He didn't bother to struggle against the chains that bound him, he'd given up on that years ago, there was another torture on it's way but he would accept it gladly … for he and Sam were about to start their journey out of here. He was going back to his sister, to the only family he had. It had been too long.

--------------------------

_Sam walked down the stone stairs and into a darkened room. The only lights coming from fires that seemed to be suspended in the air, small flames that flickered in and out of existence, giving light and heat to a room that smelt of sweat…,sweat and blood. He saw Zeke immediately, he was the only one here, hanging from chains against a wall and suspended a few feet from the ground. He didn't resemble the Zeke he'd seen in the dream either. This man was a shell of his former self. He was still tall, that would never change, but he was skin and bones, his hair was much longer and matted with blood. There was hardly a place on his body that wasn't covered in either a bruise or contusion and insects he'd never seen before crawled over his body, ducking in and out of the cuts that covered him. The only thing that was the same were his eyes. His eyes still held the intelligence, the mischief he remembered…he smiled to himself, there was not a trace of insanity in them. Zeke was still in there and the two of them were about to play the biggest poker game of their lives._

Malphas and Lothar walked up to the man and stood in front of him, smiling. Malphas wasn't surprised that the man showed no fear, he rarely did. But now…now the fun would begin.

"Got yourself a new friend, Malphas? You fucking him?" asked Zeke.

Malphas grinned "How about I make the introductions first _Ezekial_. I'd like you to meet Sam Winchester. You know that name don't you?"

"Bullshit"

"No, no bullshit" he smiled "Had a little meeting with the brothers…quite easy to get to them actually. But remember our little chat the other week?" he sneered at Zeke "Where I explained that I was bringing my brother back? The one your _bitch _sister hadn't banished? Well guess who we have here?"

"No…" said Zeke, shaking his head.

"Oh yes" he turned to Sam "Lothar?"

Sam stepped forward "I shot her…left her lying in her own blood, gurgling as she gasped for breath, the blood running out of her as she screamed your name! Screamed for you and cursed you with her last breath!"

"Fuck you!"

Lothar slapped him "But she's not dead, is she?" he laughed "Oh no…not your sister and not that asshole she's screwing!" he leaned in and smiled nastily "But they're coming…you see your sister _killed_ Sam…so now _I _posses his body…only thing is…they don't know it and they're coming for him…and for you too, I'd imagine" he laughed "Then we'll have _all _of you!"

"MY SISTER WOULDN'T COME HERE!" yelled Zeke.

"Wouldn't she? We _told _her how to come through…well actually 'Sam' did" he smiled again "And we all know that Dean will do _anything _to get little Sammy back now wouldn't he?" he punched Zeke in the ribs "And guess who he's using to do that?"

"YOU ARSEHOLE!"

"Tut. Tut. Language" said Lothar. He turned to one of the guards "Bring the chair" and he turned back to Zeke "It's been too long since we've done this, Ezekial. I am _so _looking forward to it, I've missed our chats"

The guards removed Zeke from the wall and chained him to the chair. Zeke reached out quickly to Sam, just a brief flash, just enough to let him know what to do.

Lothar turned to Malphas "Let me do this alone. This is personal and…" he grinned at his brother "I do personal _alone_"

Malphas nodded. He didn't like it when he saw this fire in his brothers eyes…it was the part of him that was touched by 'the madness'. The part of his brother he had kept hidden from the others. He ordered the guards from the room and left his brother to his madness.

Lothar rolled up his sleeves and stared at Zeke with unadulterated hate "When your sister arrives, we will bring her here and you will _watch _what we do to her…what we _all _do to her…" he grinned "You should have _told _me what she looked like, Ezekial…I'd have gone after her instead of the warrior" he grinned again "Looks like Hell just got itself a new whore"

"I'LL KILL YOU IF YOU TOUCH HER!" he roared.

Lothar laughed as Zeke retreated into his mind, he had to accept the beating and the torture for now…he had to have the scars to make sure Malphas didn't realise Sam was here…then…then he and Sam would make their plans. Jay was on her way and she was in more trouble than she realised.

_**To be continued….**_


	11. The Demons Within

(Disclaimer: Don't own anything but this)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**To Hell and Back.**

**Chapter Eleven.**

Dean and Jay stepped into Hell and the goosebumps rose immediately on their skin as their blood ran cold. They looked at their surroundings, everything was…grey. The place was devoid of colour…it was devoid of _everything_. The place was death…death to everything it touched; they could hear it on the winds, they could see it in the wasteland laid out in front of them and they could smell it in the air.

They looked at each other as they heard the sound of voices coming from behind them, someone was coming through. Dean grabbed Jay's hand and they ran soundlessly to the rock formations that surrounded them, finding a small crevice and squeezing in, one sword held at their sides as their other swords dug painfully into their backs. They watched as two demons in mortal form walked past them, covered in blood as they laughed about their latest kill in small town not far from the entrance. They waited, pressed against each other, not speaking, not breathing…waiting until the voices faded completely.

Dean looked at Jay and grinned "Sooo, do you have any idea which way we have to go?" whispered Dean.

"I hate to tell you this, Dean, but I haven't been here before and I don't think they've got a tourist information desk either"

He grinned at her "Oh har-fucking-har, Jay. You know it's not like we can just stay here"

She grinned "Really?"

He returned her grin "Okay, so it's more comfortable in front than in back…" he leaned down and kissed her, softly at first then more deeply.

They finally pulled back from each other and laughed softly.

"Okay, so we just made-out in Hell" she grinned "I can mark that off my _to-do_ list"

He grinned "You have a list?"

"Course. Now I'm guessing we gotta head down…don't say it…so there has to be an entrance of some kind cause there's nothing out there but…."

"Death" they said in unison.

"Lets go" said Dean and slid away from Jay, taking a quick look around, he turned back 'Whatever happens, we stay together, no splitting up, no solo missions, nothing" she nodded "Promise me"

"I promise. Now promise back"

He grinned "I promise" and he edged carefully out of the crevice.

Jay followed Dean as they moved quietly forward, staying as close to the rocky façade as possible. Their hearts were beating loudly in their chests, they were a hunter and a banisher walking into Hell to retrieve two of their own…and they were outnumbered like…._a lot _to two.

Dean turned back to Jay, grinned and whispered "Is it just me or the further we go the more stupid this idea seems? I mean we don't even have a plan…"

Jay grinned "Sure we do. We find Zeke and Sam and we bring them out…now keep walking"

Dean moved steadily forward "Are you checking out my ass?"

"Uh huh, hence the keep walking" said Jay.

They were trying to keep the mood light for each other, this place _dragged _at you. If you let it get to you even a little, it would take hold, weigh you down and they _had _to have their wits about them, one wrong move, one misstep and they'd be dead…well not dead, they'd be tortured for an eternity _wishing _they were dead.

Dean turned back to her and put a finger to his lips then stopped as Jay cocked her head.

"What is it?" he asked.

"There's an entrance a little further down, just on the right…but…"

"No we can't use that one…we have to go up to go down"

They looked at each other "Zeke" they whispered and looked up at the crags above them.

"Yeah, thanks for that Zeke" said Jay.

They re-sheathed their swords and found a section that looked relatively easy to scale.

"I'll go first" he grinned at her "that way you can keep checking out my ass" she rolled her eyes but smiled as she followed Dean up through the crags.

They stayed as low as they possibly could, edging around steep sections and avoiding those parts that looked unstable, for more reasons than falling to their deaths, the last thing they needed was a rock-fall, alerting the demons to their prescence.

The rocks were slippery, making progress slower than they liked. Jay could feel herself getting closer to Zeke and something was wrong…she heard him call for her, begging her to help him and she could hear the whisperings, they were torturing him, they were killing her brother. She began to run up through the outcroppings, she ran past Dean, scrambling forward, not caring that she was dislodging rocks on her way up.

"Jay!" whispered Dean as loud as he dared "Jay! Slow down!" She ignored him as she continued to scramble up the rock face "Fuck" he hurried after her, catching up with her as she was about to jump down into crevice, he grabbed her and pulled her back "No!"

She fought against him "Let me go!"

"Shut up, Jay!" he put his hand over her mouth as she struggled against him "Calm down, calm down…shh…we'll get to him…I promise, we just have to do this carefully" but she continued to struggle against him "Jay, calm the fuck down!" he flipped her over, putting her underneath him. He looked into her eyes and saw the frantic fear in them "Listen to me, Jay. We'll get to them, we _will_ but you have to calm _down_"

Jay shook her head, they were _killing _her brother and this arsehole was trying to stop her from saving him. He was using her to get Sam, he didn't want to help her, he just wanted her to get to his brother. She bit the hand that was covering her mouth and Dean swore but didn't remove it. She bit it again and again until he pulled it away "You prick! They're _killing _him! Can't you hear it? Can't you hear him? Let me go!" she struggled against him "Let me gooo!" she wailed as the whisperings got louder as Zeke's screams echoed through her mind.

Dean couldn't hear anything "Jay, no…it's this _place_. Don't listen to them, whatever they're saying it's lies…look at me, _look _at me…"

"No! You just want to get to Sam! You don't care about Zeke! I _hate _you! I _HATE _you!" she pushed him off her and scrambled towards the crevice. Dean jumped, grabbing her and pulling her back "No! No! Let me go! I need to save my brother!"

Dean could see that whatever was happening to her was starting to take hold, she was losing it and this place would use that and they they'd _never _get to Sam and Zeke. He slapped her hard, rocking her head sideways.

"I HATE you!" she spat at him "I HATE you! And I'm gonna KILL you!" she reached for her dagger.

Dean slapped her hard and her head smacked against a rock, her eyes rolling back in her head "Jesus, Jay…Jay…" he looked at her head, there was a small lump forming, he cradled her head in his lap "Jay, come on…" he continued whispering quietly to her until she groaned softly, her eyes snapping open "Hey, shh…you're alright now"

She sat up and leaned against a rock next to him, her head in her hands "I _heard _them, Dean…they were killing him, I could hear his screams, he was begging me to come save him…and they were telling me if I got there…I _could_ save him…they'd let him go if I went to him"

Dean put his hand on the back of her neck "You know it wasn't him" she nodded "They're gonna play games with us, Jay. They're gonna mess with our minds, you _know _that. You have to block it out"

"Easier said than done, Dean" she looked at him "They were _his _screams…they may have been lying to me but they were _his _screams" and she would _never _forget them. The pain of them, the terror they held…and when she'd heard him scream her name…she brushed angrily at the tears in her eyes. "We need to get moving"

"You alright?"

She nodded "Sorry" she looked at him again, hearing Voices' words in her head "I don't hate you"

He grinned "Course you don't" he leaned over and kissed her softly "Now come on" he helped her to her feet and they went to the crevice and looked down "We go up to go down" he looked at her, shrugged, then swung his leg over the edge, Jay following moments later.

_------------------------------_

_Sam watched as his fists rained down on Zeke. There was no respite, Lothar was in a frenzy and he pounded into Zeke until his knuckles split open. He saw himself go to a far side of the chamber and remove a case that was hidden in a small alcove, He bought it back and put it on the floor, crouching down and opening it. Sam's stomach churned…no, he couldn't watch this. He couldn't watch himself do this to the man that had saved him, saved him and Dean. He closed his eyes as Zeke's first scream ripped through him._

"_Sam" _

_He opened his eyes and saw Zeke crouching next to him, smiling._

"_Hi Sam"_

"_Zeke…I'm sorry…"_

"_Forget about it, necessary evil. Jay and Dean are here but we have a problem…this place got to Jay, just a little, Dean helped her but …they know she's here now. You need to get Lothar to divert their search away from where they are"_

"_I don't know how to do that. He'll know I'm here…and then we're fucked"_

_Zeke smiled "You know those little voices you hear in your head, Sam? Those ones you listen to? Instinct, gut feelings…those type of things" Sam nodded "Well Sam, you're just about to become Lothar's 'little voice'…just quietly, whisper quietly and he'll listen"_

"_Alright"_

"_Not yet, Sam. Give him ten more minutes of fun before you start"_

"_Zeke…"_

"_I know what I'm doing Sam. Now I gotta go"_

_And just like that, he was. Sam closed his eyes and counted off the ten minutes. Dean and Jay were here…it was time to go home._

----------------

Lothar cut into the man in front of him, his screams of pain driving him on, he licked at the blood that covered his hands, his shirt now soaked in it. He raised the knife again and stopped, something was wrong. He didn't know what it was but …he needed to check it out. He put the knife back in it's case and walked quickly out of the chamber and up the stairs.

He found Malphas striding towards him, grinning at him "They're here"

"You sure?"

Malphas took in Lothar's bloodied appearance "Is he still alive?"

Lothar nodded "Are you _sure _they're here?"

Malphas grinned "The winds carried her cries to us. She's here…we think they're heading up the western façade…"

Lothar shook his head "No, I told them which entrance to come through…the far eastern one, told them it was the safest one, the least travelled. They'll be coming through there, I guarantee it"

Malphas smiled and patted his brother on the shoulder "Good work. Now go change…"

Lothar grinned "Oh, no…I'm not finished toying with him. You find her and you bring her to the dungeon and let her see what I've done" he grinned again "Then I can show him what we'll be doing to his sister. Do NOT come back without her" he turned and walked back to Zeke, Malphas staring after him and wondering if 'the madness' had now fully taken hold.

--------------------

Dean and Jay dropped silently to the floor, their arms, shoulders and legs aching with the effort it had taken to climb down the crevice. They hid in the shadows as they heard voices and running feet. Dean's stomach dropped as four demons ran past, dressed in army uniform, they were fucked. But the demons didn't see them. He turned to Jay and she was smiling. She pointed to the symbols on her face and hands and he grinned.

He leaned over and whispered "I don't know how I know but we have to go down a passageway just off to the left of this one …"

She nodded and whispered back "Stone steps at the end" he nodded then shook his head "You alright" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine" …it was his first lie.

They headed carefully down towards the passageway, they could hear the screams of those that were being tortured, could feel their pain, their terror they helplessness and they blocked it out. There was nothing they could do for them, they were only here to bring two out, no more. They ducked down the passageway and Dean stopped again and shook his head.

"Dean? What _is _it?" asked Jay, putting a hand on his arm.

"Nothing. It's just this place. Come on" his second lie came more easily this time.

Jay followed Dean down towards the end of the passageway, she stopped when she heard a scream, it wasn't a whisper on the wind, it wasn't Hell messing with her, it was her _brother_. She went to push past Dean and he held her back "No, Jay. We don't go rushing in. And you _know _that's not him. They're messing with you again. Wait here and let me go check it out" ...the third lie didn't even register.

Jay stared at Dean's back, was he serious? That was _Zeke_…that scream was as real as the two of them standing there. And '_wait here and let him go check it out?'_ He'd been the one that had made them swear to stay together, no matter what. "Dean…"

He turned back and grinned.

"Oh shit"

---------------------------

Zeke looked up as he heard footsteps and …another sound, another sound he couldn't quite place. He saw Lothar turn around so he knew he wasn't imagining things…he screamed in rage as he saw Dean drag an unconscious Jay into the chamber.

Dean looked up and saw his brother and smiled "Sammy" he let go of Jay's hair and she fell to the floor "Sammy, I found you"

Lothar looked at Dean and smiled, Hell had taken hold over the man, now he could _really _have some fun "Dean. Thank God! This asshole just told me, we're _never _getting out! We're stuck here…and it's all_their _fault!" he looked at the man "So I figure if we're staying…" he lifted his knife and made a long cut down Zeke's chest. He turned back and tossed the knife to Dean "Why don't you get started on her?"

Dean caught the knife and raised it to his eyes, turning it over and over, watching the blood run down it's blade and over his hand, it hypnotised him.

"NO DEAN!" yelled Zeke "FIGHT IT! FIGHT IT!"

Lothar turned and punched Zeke in the jaw, rocking his head "SHUT UP, ASSHOLE!"

Dean turned when he heard Jay groan, he walked over to her, kicking her onto her back. He sat on her hips and when he put the knife to her throat her eyes snapped open. He leaned down close, his face inches from hers "You used me…used me to get to your brother" he laughed "Did you really think that by fucking me, I'd listen to you, do what you said?" he laughed again and flicked the knife up, cutting her jaw. He leaned down and licked the blood from her and grinned "Let the games begin…"

"Jay…"

She turned her eyes as far as the knife would allow and saw Zeke…or what was left of him and tears welled in her eyes "Zeke…" she reached out a hand to him and Dean raised the knife and drove it through her outstretched hand, pinning it to the floor. He slapped his hand over her mouth as she screamed and wondered why his hand was now aching and why he had a small niggling pain in his jaw.

"Shhhh…shhhh…don't want anyone else to come in and spoil our fun now do we?" whispered Dean.

Lothar came over and crouched down next to them "Kill her, Dean…kill her….kill her…kill her…kill her…"

Dean heard his brother whispering in his ear…he had to kill Jay to save Sam…kill Jay to save Sam…that wasn't such a bad trade…he grinned "Oh, I will Sammy…just want to have some fun first…" he reached into his boot and took out his dagger, laughing as she screamed against his hand, her brother screaming with her.

_**To be continued….**_


	12. What Sets You Free

(Disclaimer: Don't own anything but this)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**To Hell and Back.**

**Chapter Twelve.**

Jay stared into Dean's eyes, inches from her own, they weren't the green eyes she was used to seeing, now there was a fleck of yellow to them, a hint of madness. Something had happened…she thought back to what 'Voices' had said to her…be true to yourselves…Dean had lied to her…he'd lied to her and now Hell was trying to take hold of him. She looked over at Zeke, so close to her brother yet so far away from him still. She tried to move her hand, the one that was pinned to the floor by the knife, but all that did was send a searing pain up her arm. She saw Dean wince…she moved her hand again and he winced again. Her eyes flicked to Zeke, he was still watching her, he nodded and she pushed her hand up the knife blade, the pain of it excruciating. Dean cried out and removed the hand from her mouth, shaking it in pain.

"Dean, listen to me…this isn't you…it's _this _place! You've got to…" she stopped as Lothar punched her in the jaw.

"LEAVE HER THE FUCK ALONE, ASSHOLE! YOU WANT TO BEAT ON SOMEONE, BEAT ON ME YOU SONOFABITCH!" yelled Zeke.

Lothar turned slowly to Zeke "Thanks, I will" he got up and walked purposefully towards him.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" yelled Jay as she tried to grab at the knife that still pinned her hand. She felt Zeke reach out to her, telling her he would keep Lothar busy, but she had to work to bring Dean back.

"I don't know how!" she yelled to Zeke.

"_You do, Jay. I see the markings on your face, you've been to see George. You know how"_

"I don't!"

"Shut the fuck up, bitch!" said Dean as he pushed the knife against her throat "You thought you could leave me and Sammy here? Take your asshole brother out and leave us here?" he cut her jaw again and winced.

"Dean…look at me…remember what George said…remember…you lied about something…you said something and now…now…"

"NO!" and he drove the dagger into her side "This is YOUR fault!"

"_Jay, you __**have**__ to reach him. You know how…you tell him what he needs to hear"_

"_You _lied to _me!" _he hissed in her face "You used _me! _And now me and Sammy are stuck here!"

"No, Dean. We can get back, we can get out…you just have to listen to me…look at me, Dean…"

Lothar came back over "Dean…don't you listen to her…I'm your brother, I'd never lie to you. _She _would…she _has_. Hasn't she? Never told us she was a banisher…why _wouldn't_ she lie"

"Sam's dead, Dean!" yelled Zeke "He's NOT in there…this is all Lothar! Look at your brother! Look at him! Listen…"

Lothar ran back to Zeke and pounded into him.

"_Jay, we don't have much time, you need to bring him back…"_

"Dean…please…" he pushed the knife against her neck, drawing blood.

"You killed my brother, bitch" he sneered "You lied…and you killed my brother…"

"No, Dean. I never lied to you" he pushed to knife in deeper "I never lied to you, Dean"

"You..." he shook his head as if to clear it.

"Look at me, Dean. You fight this, that isn't Sam and you know it. You listen to yourself, not to them, not to what they're telling you and you _listen _to me"

Dean was in a fog, her could hear Sam telling him about all the lies Jay had told, how she had used him and Sam to get to Zeke, how they would leave them behind, leave them in Hell and …it didn't feel right. He could hear Jay talking to him but he couldn't quite understand what she was saying…all he knew was that he had to kill her…kill her to save Sam. He shook his head…no, he couldn't kill her…he didn't know why…he just knew he couldn't.

Dean looked down at her and grinned nastily "Any last words, bitch?" and he pushed he dagger in deeper, the blood running freely down her neck.

"_TELL HIM!" yelled Zeke._

She shook her head, she couldn't. She couldn't say it, she didn't know why she'd said it…she stopped herself before she could finish the lie.

"_TELL HIM!" Zeke yelled again, his voice echoing through her mind._

"Well?" asked Dean as he leaned against the blade.

She quelled the fear in her stomach, looked into his eyes and said the words she swore she'd never utter again "I love you" she closed her eyes and waited for the knife to slice into her throat.

"_Tell him again, Jay…"_ she shook her head slightly _"Tell him, Jay"_

She opened her eyes and he was staring at her "Dean…I…"

"Say it" he whispered "Please..."

She looked at him "I can't" she saw him close his eyes.

"Jay…I…" he shook his head and opened his eyes "Almost, bitch!"

"_JAY!" screamed Zeke._

"Do it, Dean. Do it. You wanna hear me say it again, well I can't, okay? So fucking well kill me! But if you do, you'll _never _get back and you'll never get Sam back!"

"_YOU IDIOT! Just tell him! Tell him! Tell him! Tell him! Tell him! Tell him! Tell him! Tell him! Tell him! Tell him! Tell him! Tell him! Tell him! I can do this ALL day, Jay! Tell him! Tell him! Tell him! Tell him! Tell him! Tell him!"_

"ALRIGHT!!!" she looked at Dean "I love you, okay? There. I said it…again. Now move the fucking knife!"

"_JAY!"_

"Fucking hell…I am _so _kicking your arse, Zeke" she looked back at Dean and sighed "Look at me, Dean, I'm only saying this _one _more time…and if you don't fucking listen, I'm coming back to haunt your arse" she paused and looked into his eyes "I love you." she watched him, then closed her eyes when she felt the knife move a little deeper.

"KILL HER DEAN!" yelled Lothar.

"My pleasure…" said Dean "Look at me, bitch!" she opened her eyes and glared at him …and he winked at her "Come watch…watch me, Sammy…"

Lothar stopped beating Zeke and walked over, crouching down next to them "Kill her, Dean…"

Dean looked up at Sam "Can't little brother" he grinned "she loves me" and he knocked Lothar on his ass. He dived off Jay and onto Lothar, punching at him furiously.

"Knock him out, Dean!" yelled Zeke.

Jay rolled over and yanked the knife from her hand, she gave voice to a low yell and ran to her brother "Zeke…" she hugged him, kissing his cheek a lot "Zeke…"

Zeke laughed softly "You want to untie me, sis?"

She crouched and cut the ties to his ankles then ran to the back of the chair and cut the bindings that held his wrists. She came back round "Jesus, Zeke…"

He grinned "I'm a little hungry"

She laughed "No shit" she looked over at Sam and Dean, still fighting "Jesus Christ…" she walked over and hit Sam in the head with the handle of the knife, knocking him out. She went back to Zeke and crouched in front of him "Can you walk?"

"We don't have a choice. But we've got another problem"

"Of course we do" she smiled.

"Sam isn't dead…well he did die…he's in there" he looked at Dean "He's in there Dean, I've spoken to him…but Lothar is in control" he looked back at Jay "Sam's a sleeper"

Jay sat back on her ankles "Fucking hell…."

"What? What is it?" asked Dean. He came over "Zeke…" they shook hands and Dean grinned at him "Good to finally meet you"

"You too, Dean. Although you hurt my sister again and I'll put a _hurting_ on you, you'll _never _forget"

"Zeke…let it go" she looked over at Sam then back to Zeke "How deep is he?"

"Deep. I had to hide him from Lothar but we're gonna need him to get us out of here"

"What the _hell _are you two talking about?"

Jay ignored Dean "S'Alright. I know a way"

"You sure?"

Jay rolled her eyes at her brother "It's what I _do, _Zeke. It's more difficult this way but it can be done. Now go to Sam. Tell him…" she paused and thought "tell him he needs to get as many of the demons as far away from the entrance as possible. The one _he_ came through and then he's gonna take us there. We can't go back the way we came, not with you like you are" she looked at him sadly.

He put a hand to her face "I'm alright, Jay" he smiled "Well I am now" he hugged her "I've missed you"

"I've missed you" she tried to ignore the feel of his ribs under her hands. These bastards would _pay _for what they did to her brother.

Zeke pulled away "Let me do this" and he closed his eyes and reached for Sam.

Jay stood and reached into her satchel and took the ochre paint out and put the symbols on Zeke's face and hands then looked at Dean "Let me redo yours" she went over the markings as he grinned at her "Stop it"

"Haunt my ass" he laughed.

"I would, you know"

"I don't doubt it" he smiled at her and she sighed "You love me"

"Shut up" and she redid the markings on her own face and hands "And I only said it…shit"

"You can't lie here" he laughed "Oh I aim to take the piss"

"You're an idiot" she went back to Zeke "Give me your shirt, Dean"

Dean came over and they put the shirt on Zeke as he opened his eyes "Sam's doing it now. He said he's sorry, Jay"

She shook her head "Doesn't matter. Now we don't have a lot of time. When Lothar goes upstairs we follow behind him, the symbols don't make us invisible but if we're hidden it's difficult for them to see us. When he clears the area we get the hell out…sorry about the bad pun….and go to the entrance. We've got the necklaces so I can get us back through"

"And you can banish Lothar once we're out right?" asked Dean.

"Yeah, she can. Sam'll be fine Dean" he looked at Jay "Sam's gonna tell him we escaped and he'll direct them as far away from us as possible. They want you _bad, _sis"

"Well they can't _have _her" said Dean. Jay turned and raised an eyebrow "Shut up"

She laughed "Okay, come on Zeke" she and Dean helped him to his feet and led him over to the alcove and they hid in there as they heard Sam starting to come around. They watched as he got slowly to his feet, looked around, swore loudly and took off up the stairs.

Jay looked at her brother and smiled "Time to go home, Zeke"

----------------------------

Lothar ran up the stairs, they'd tricked him! They'd escaped but he knew which way they were headed, he'd heard them talking when he was out of it. They were going to the western entrance…Zeke knew a way and he was leading them there. He didn't care what his brother said, he was gonna kill the bitch. No torture for her. He was going to inch his knife slowly, slowly through her neck and watch the light go out in her eyes.

He ran into his brother's quarters, Malphas was going over maps and looked up at him "They're gone"

"Gone? We haven't found them yet, Lothar"

"They found their way to the dungeons, I didn't expect them…they knocked me out, but not before I heard them say they were heading to the western entrance…we need to move everyone over there"

Malphas nodded and called a soldier in and gave him orders to move the search over there. He turned back to Lothar "If we don't get her, Lothar…Kasdeya will have our heads"

"There is no way they're getting away, brother. I guarantee it"

Malphas nodded "Go change. I'll head the search" Lothar nodded and walked out.

Malphas sat back in his chair. This was NOT good. If the bitch and the warriors escaped, Kasdeya wouldn't have their heads, he and Lothar would be banished to the wastelands, doomed to wander them for all eternity. It would slowly send them mad. He knew the beasts that roamed that place had once been demons, demons that had been banished. The insanity turning them into something else…something they themselves feared. No, they had to find the warriors and the bitch. He got up and walked out. He would head the search for them, his life depended on it.

----------------------------

Jay and Dean walked slowly, Zeke held between them as they followed Sam up the passageways that led to the entrance. They had to hide a few times but hadn't been spotted, the symbols on their bodies working perfectly. They were edging slowly along when they heard what sounded like the thundering of a thousand horses coming towards them. They pressed themselves against the wall as hundreds of demons in full uniform marched double-time past them. They didn't dare breathe for fear of one of the demons hearing them. It was the longest ten minutes of their lives.

They moved cautiously forward then stopped and watched curiously as Sam walked into room off the passageway. He came out ten minutes later, closing the door behind him. He looked furtively around then continued towards the entrance, Jay, Dean and Zeke following him.

They followed Sam up a narrow passageway and out into the open expanse of Hell. They followed him to the entrance and he stopped and turned around, a look of puzzlement on his face.

Jay whispered "Game time" she turned to Zeke "You need to tell Sam it's time to fight"

Zeke stared at her and shook his head "No"

She smiled at him "Yes, Zeke. It's the only way"

He shook his head "No. I won't let you"

"What's going on? Cause I'm not liking the sound of this" said Dean.

Zeke laughed hollowly "Oh _you _will"

"Don't start on him, Zeke. There's _no _other way. If there was I'd do it…but…there isn't"

"_What_ are you talking about?" asked Dean more urgently.

"I have to do the banishing here" said Jay as she slipped out from underneath Zeke's arm.

"Here? Are you serious?"

"There's no choice. Sam's the sleeper. If I do it outside the Gates then I banish Sam, if I do it here I can reverse it and Lothar is banished. Zeke, tell Sam it's time to fight"

"No"

Dean looked at Zeke "Why the fuck not, dude?"

"Two reasons, _Dean. _You think _they _won't feel a banishing here? They'll _know _where we are"

"I'll open the Gates first, Dean will take you through Zeke"

"No. And _two, _if she does a banishing here…"

"I'll be fine, Zeke. I know what I'm doing, now tell Sam it's time or _I _will" said Jay.

"What happens if she does a banishing here?" asked Dean.

Jay got up and went to Zeke and hugged him "You know I love you, Zeke. Love you more than anything" she kissed his cheek.

"I love you too, Jay but you _can't _do this"

She smiled "Yeah, I can"

"I won't let you"

"It's not your decision" she hugged him fiercely, kissed him once more then knocked him out.

_**To be continued…**_


	13. Battles and Sacrifices

(Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the following story)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**To Hell and Back.**

**Chapter Thirteen.**

Dean caught Zeke as he collapsed "What the _fuck _are you doing, Jay?"

"What I have to. Stay here with Zeke while I go speak with Sam. You _watch out _for my brother" she turned and headed slowly towards Lothar.

Lothar kept turning in circles, wondering what he was doing out here. No, he should be down searching for _them_, not out here…he turned round again and saw the bitch standing in front of him and was _so _surprised that he just stared at her, his eyes wide with shock.

"Sam. I know you're in there…it's time to come out. It's time to fight" she said it quietly, forcing Sam to listen to her "We don't have a lot of time, Sam, so no fucking around…you…"

The punch made her stumble "SAM is dead, bitch!" he laughed "And now you, your brother and your fuck-buddy are too!"

"Sam, I said NO fucking around! And if you hit me _one _more time I will put your balls in a vice that'll make you talk like a girl for the rest of your life! Now get your arse outta there!"

Lothar laughed then stopped and shook his head in denial "No…no..."

Jay smiled "Surprise! Now Sam, listen to me, I'm only gonna say this _once_. This is gonna hurt like a sonofabitch but I can't tie you up so you gotta _sit _through this…"

Lothar roared "NOOOO!!"

Jay kicked him in the balls and Lothar slumped to the ground, his hands going between his legs as he groaned. Jay crouched down in front of him "Sorry, Sam…but you gotta be quiet too, well at least until we start. I'm gonna get you back…but you _have_ to help me. I can't do this without you. You're gonna have to put Lothar where you were…you'll understand when the time is right but you _do _this, Sam or I'll banish you instead ...and your brother will _seriously _kick my arse if I do that. Nod if you understand me" Sam nodded. Jay smiled and patted him on the shoulder "Good stuff. Now sorry but…" she punched him in the balls again "Gotta open the Gates now…so you fight, Sam, you fight like _never _before" he nodded again and she turned and went back to Dean and Zeke.

Dean stared at her "You hit my brother in the balls enough?"

She smiled "No. I'll open the Gates now and you take Zeke through, you stay there with him, you _protect _him til me and Sam come through"

Dean shook his head "No. We stay together, _all _of us"

"Doesn't work that way, Dean. I need to do the banishing here and Zeke will stop me if he wakes so you take him through and you _stay _there. No arguments. Me and Sam'll be fine"

She walked back past a still writhing Sam, got on her knees, opened her satchel and performed the ritual that opened the Gates. She turned as she saw the fractured air and rose. She kicked Sam in the balls as she walked past, apologising as she went and grabbed Dean "Time to go"

Dean shook his head "No way"

She looked at him "_Please, _Dean. Don't let him stay in here any longer…_please_. He's been here too long…_please_, Dean, _please_"

He looked into her pleading eyes and sighed "Okay, okay…but I'm coming _back_. I _won't _leave you and Sammy here"

She smiled at him "Thank you" she leaned down and kissed her brother on the cheek, slipping the necklace round his neck and tucking it under his shirt "I'll see you soon, Zeke" she looked up at Dean "Your necklace will get the both of you through, it'll feel like you're walking in mud but you'll be fine. You make _sure _he's safe, Dean. Now _go,_ I need to get organised"

He nodded "Back in a sec" he carried Zeke towards the Gates, stopping when he got to Sam "I'll be back soon, Sammy. You fight, you hear me? You listen to Jay and you fight!" he saw Sam nod "I _will _be back, Sam" Sam nodded again and Dean turned and looked back at Jay, she was already drawing the diagram she needed in the sand. He turned and walked through the Gates, fulfilling a promise as he carried Zeke out of Hell.

---------------------------

_Sam heard Jay talking to him, telling him it was time to fight. It was time to come back and fight, fight for his body, fight for his soul and fight to make sure this asshole that had inhabited his body was banished. He wondered where Zeke was…but figured this was a fight he had to do alone ...and he was **more** than ready. He'd already put plans in place for Malphas, he'd stopped in and had a little chat with Kasdeya about Malphas' treachery. He smiled to himself, fuck with his family would he? Well Malphas and his army were in for a nice surprise when they came back empty handed._

_He rose from the refuge of his mind and screamed his rage at Lothar. He heard the demons surprise then his fear when he realised that Sam __**was**__ there, that he hadn't died. Sam smiled, Lothar was about to get his ass kicked by __**another **__Winchester._

_Lothar's heart skipped a beat when he heard the roar of rage from Sam Winchester. He __**shouldn't **__be there! He was dead! Gone! He'd been sure of it…but there was no doubt. The man was here…Sam Winchester had been a sleeper in his own body. He couldn't even __**begin **__to imagine the ramifications of that. What he **did **know, was that he would have to fight for his own life…fight to stay in the body and fight to ensure it was __**Sam**__ that was banished and not him. He knew that Sam had other ideas and he had that bitch working with him. Lothar roared again. He would NOT be banished! He would NOT allow the switch, Sam Winchester would NOT win._

_Sam heard all the thoughts that ran through Lothar's mind…through HIS mind. The demon was scared and he SHOULD be. Sam was in a rage as never before, Lothar would PAY for what he'd done to him, what he'd done to Dean, to Zeke and to Jay. There would be NO mercy here. Sam roared and Lothar roared in return, a battle for the soul was beginning…a battle that could go either way…_

--------------------------------

Jay finished the diagram she needed and looked over at Sam and saw that the fight had already begun. Welts were starting to appear on his face and hands and Sam was starting to scream. She ran over to him and crouched down.

"Sam, I'm sorry but I gotta keep you quiet until we start" she punched him in the balls again and he gasped "Alright, now we gotta move you. Nod if you can help me" she saw him nod "Good" she reached under his arms and helped him up "You gotta stay in the diagram Sam, doesn't matter if you mess it up, just stay _inside _it okay?" he nodded and she moved him as quickly as he could over to it "Kneel" he knelt down "Alright, you have to listen to me and I mean _listen _Sam. We're going to do this as quickly as possible, once I start they'll know what I'm doing and they'll come. They'll come for us Sam, so when you hear the words, you'll know them, you put Lothar where you were, you won't have much time, you _lock _him in there Sam and then he'll be gone. I promise you. Understand?" he nodded "Good. Oh and this is gonna _hurt _Sam …so sorry in advance" she stood "Now let's get this done"

Jay stood and took the dagger from her boot, cut the symbol into her hand and walked around the circle, the blood dripping onto the black sand, hissing as it hit. She started to speak in the Ancient language, the language that was banned here…the banishing had begun and her words carried on the winds, carried to her enemy. She continued the ceremony as Sam started to scream, to fight, she could do nothing for him now…it was up to him. The banishing had begun and once started, there was no stopping it. By the end of it either Sam or Lothar would be in possession of the body. She hoped it was Sam …she didn't want to have to kill his body in front of his brother.

-----------------------

_Sam didn't know what to expect from the battle…he didn't expect it to be literal though. When he emerged from his refuge he __**saw**__ Lothar standing there, in military uniform, swords at the ready. Fuck. He didn't have any…he cocked his head, his swords were at his back. He smiled and drew them quickly._

"_Thought you got rid of me did you, asshole? Well NO-ONE fucks with my family and gets away with it!" _

_Sam launched himself at Lothar and the battle began. Warrior and Demon, fighting as their kind always did ...only __**this**__ time, they were fighting for the right to possess the body, fighting for their existence. Only one would survive, only one __**could **__survive, there was no other way. _

_Sam swung his swords furiously, driving Lothar back, he couldn't take his time, Jay said they had little of it. He thought back to all he'd learned, all the practice he'd had with Dean and it was __**that **__thought of his brother, **that** thought that drove him forward, that made his swords swing with pinpoint accuracy, driving the demon back, steering him towards his cage. He blocked out the pain his body was feeling, he understood what it meant…he was taking control…he had the upper hand…he drove relentlessly forward, screaming his rage. He saw the fear in Lothar's eyes and pushed his advantage but Lothar refused to go easily and fought back with equal fury. Sam ducked a strike at his head and spun, slicing Lothar deep across his stomach, driving his other sword into his shoulder. Lothar screamed in pain and rage and raised his swords, he would NOT be put in that place, he would NOT be banished._

-----------------------------

Dean ran back through the Gates and stopped dead in his tracks. Sam was on his knees, his head thrown back, screaming in agony, his face and his hands bleeding, his shirt stained with blood and blood seeping through his jeans. But it was the screams that tore at him, tore at his soul…Jay had said it would be hard to watch but he'd had no idea.

He ran over to them, staying out of their way as Jay continued to walk around the circle, her hand dripping blood onto it as she spoke in a language he'd never heard before. She paused before speaking three words and Sam threw his head back even further, the tendons in his neck straining under the pressure. Tears streamed down Sam's face and Dean watched as Sam seemed to blur then regain solidity before a vapour-like image seemed to be ripped away from him, he saw it hold onto the body for a moment, desperately grabbing onto it before Jay spoke again and it was torn away, leaving jagged tear-marks on the skin of Sam's body, where it had taken it's last hold. Dean watched as it screamed…no... _howled,_ as it was borne upwards, writhing in on itself before exploding into innumerable pieces, each piece issuing a scream before it vanished, a scream that echoed round the wasteland.

Sam's body collapsed and Dean ran to him, turning him over "Sam! Sammy! Wake up!" he looked up at Jay, she looked exhausted and he saw cuts and bruises on her that hadn't been there before…ones that seemed to match the ones on Sam's body "Is it Sam? Please tell me it's Sam"

She smiled at him "It's Sam. He did good, Dean. He's hurt bad" she smiled "but he'll heal. It will take longer than normal though so time to get moving. Is Zeke's alright? Is he safe?"

Dean lifted his brother and nodded "He's in your car, I've hidden both cars…now come on"

He watched as she took some ingredients from the satchel and put them in her coat pocket. She removed Zeke's sword and went over to him, placing it over Dean's back and then putting the satchel round his neck "What are you doing? Come on! They're coming!" he could hear the thunderous sound of them heading towards the Gates "Come _on,_ Jay! We gotta go!"

She smiled sadly at him "I _can't_ go, Dean."

"Bullshit! Come on!"

"You have to go now. Go through, I'll close the Gates after you, they won't be able to follow. You take Sam and Zeke and you go see Voices. He'll be able to help them both" she paused "You tell Zeke there was no other way…he needs to _understand _that…"

"NO!"

"_Yes,_ Dean. You need to go and you need to look after them"

"This is _bullshit, _Jay! Get your ass moving before I kick it all the way through the damn Gates!"

"Can't Dean. The necklace will only get the two of you through"

He looked at her neck, her necklace was gone "What did you do?" he whispered.

She sighed "Dean, I was never coming back. Once I did a banishing here…" she shook her head "it's against the rules…I broke them…now go…"

He shook his head "No. I'll take Sam through and I'll come back and get you"

It was her turn to shake her head "You _can't _Dean. I'm _stuck _here. And I'll close the Gates once you're through…now go. Go see Voices…and tell Zeke I love him"

"Jay, you _can't _do this! You _can't _stay here! You _know _what they'll do to you…please…"

"They won't be doing anything to me, Dean. I won't give them the satisfaction. Now go, _please_" she pushed him gently towards the Gates "Go. There's nothing you can do…so, _please_ …just go. Look out for Zeke for me…"

"Why, Jay? Why would you _do _this?"

She smiled at him "Dean, all I _ever _wanted to do was get Zeke out of here. I've done that…but I couldn't have done it without you or Sam…so…" she shrugged and smiled again "Thank you"

He shook his head "No, I _won't _leave you here"

"Dean you don't _understand_, there's NO choice. Now go…you can hear them coming…go…" she pushed him again.

"Just…stay alive, Jay…we'll figure a way to come get you"

She shook her head "I don't want to live here. I _know _what they do to Banishers…I won't allow it" she pushed him again, edging him and Sam towards the Gates "Go"

He shook his head "I _can't"_

"You _can _and you _will_" she leaned over and kissed him softly, a sweet kiss "Go" she smiled "I meant what I said, Dean. You know that…now go" and she gave him one final push, back through the Gates. The last thing she heard him say was that he loved her.

She turned and drew her sword as the earth beneath her feet began to shake, the rabid-barking of the hounds of hell carried on the winds and mixed with those of Hell's Army. She looked up and saw the dark-swirling clouds tumbling in on each other, black flashes of lightning ripping through the darkened sky as the thunder crashed, reverberating loudly through the wastelands.

_Fuck me, _she thought, _they're really going all out._ How disappointed they were gonna be when they saw it was just her. She grinned and got on her knees, time to close the Gate.

---------------------------

Dean stumbled back through the Gate. Once Jay had pushed him through there was nothing he could do but go to the other side…and if he got there quickly enough, he'd be able to get back in time to help her…to do _something_…he couldn't just leave her there…he _wouldn't_. The last he'd seen of her, as he told her he loved her, was her drawing her sword and standing ready to face an army of thousands ...by herself.

He stumbled out of the Gate and fell to his knees. He got up quickly and carried Sam as fast as he could towards safety, he turned when he heard vicious barking echoing through the Gates…Cerberus. He had to get back. He started to scramble up the embankment when he heard the crack of the Gate closing…he turned, as if in slow-motion and watched the air drawing back together, the earth underneath rejoining and he yelled as the Gates of Hell closed.

_**To be continued…**_


	14. To Hell and Back

(Disclaimer: Don't own anything but the following story)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**To Hell and Back.**

**Chapter Fourteen.**

Dean slumped down on the embankment, Sam in his arms as he looked at where the Gates had been. She'd closed them, like she said she would. He couldn't get back to her, he couldn't save her. He shook his head slowly, he knew what she was going to do…she'd give Hell's Army an earful and then…he closed his eyes…she'd grin at them, probably give them the finger and then drive her sword through her neck.

She'd known, from the minute Zeke had told her Sam was a 'sleeper', she'd known. She'd made sure Zeke couldn't stop her, made sure he was free from Hell, that he was finally safe and had then saved his brother.

She'd known that if she banished Lothar…banished him _there_, that there was no going back for her …but she'd done it anyway. She'd traded her life for Sam's because they'd helped her save Zeke.

It was his fault. He'd let Sam become possessed and now she was dead, he'd never forgive himself…and when Sam found out… He looked at his brother, he hung his head as he finally understood that irregardless, he'd have lost one of them; Sam or Jay; his brother or…the woman he …loved. He knew he did. He _hadn't _lied that night, he'd meant it and now she'd never know that he loved her too. She hadn't heard him tell her, tell her he loved her as she pushed him through the Gates, pushed him to safety.

He heard an anguished cry and looked up to see Zeke standing at the top of the embankment. He put Sam down gently as he saw Zeke stumble down the arroyo and head towards where the Gates had been muttering '"No, no, no, no.." and shaking his head as tears streamed down his face.

He grabbed Zeke by the shoulders "No, Zeke…"

Zeke pushed him away with surprising strength "GO TO YOUR_ BROTHER!_ YOU GOT _HIM_ BACK! LEAVE ME THE _FUCK _ALONE!" he went to the spot where the Gates had been "JAY! JAY! OPEN THE GODDAMN GATES! OPEN THEM NOW!_ NOW _JAY!"

Dean went to Zeke "Can you open them, Zeke? Open them and I'll go get her. I swear I …"

Zeke turned to him "I DON'T KNOW HOW! DO YOU UNDERSTAND? I DON'T KNOW _HOW!" _he fell to his knees and muttered over and over "I don't know how…I don't know how…I don't know how…"

Dean crouched next to the man and put his hand on his shoulder "Zeke…"

Zeke looked up at him "IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! YOU _KILLED _HER! YOU AND YOUR FUCKING BROTHER _KILLED _HER! YOU KILLED MY SISTER! YOU _ARSEHOLE!_ SHE _LOVED _YOU AND YOU _KILLED _HER!"

Dean sat back on his heels and whispered "I didn't know, Zeke…I swear to you I didn't know…she wouldn't let me bring her back…I tried…" he put his head in his hands.

"She can't _come_ back, you prick! You and your brother _trapped _her there! Happy?! SHE CAN'T FUCKING WELL COME BACK!" screamed Zeke.

"Yes. She can"

Dean and Zeke turned at the sound of the voice behind them and looked into the smiling faces of George and Gus.

------------

Jay rose from her knees as the Gates closed behind her. They were safe. Zeke, Dean and Sam were safe. She'd made sure these arseholes wouldn't be able to follow them, even after she killed herself, they wouldn't be able to follow them. She'd used the Banishers incantations in Hell, so she was already fucked, using more of them wasn't gonna make her any _more _fucked so…why the hell not? She laughed quietly to herself, why the _hell_ not.

She looked up as the barking increased…Cerberus. Well, she liked dogs. Bet this one didn't have its own little carry-bag though. She tightened her grip on her sword as he came round the corner and her stomach fell. Fucking hell…he was HUGE. His three-heads were collared and he was being held back by an army of demons. Jesus, not an army…a fucking _legion_. He stood easily twelve feet, his muscles straining as he sniffed the air and realised she was there. He barked viciously, saliva flying in all directions. Some of it landed on a demon to his left and it burned into him like acid. The demon fell, screaming and writhing in agony until another demon stepped forward and put him out of his misery. Alrighty then. Avoid doggy-saliva and ALL costs.

She saw a demon ride forward on an armoured, black horse. He was in full military uniform and she noted the General stripes on his sleeve. Okay, playing with the big boys now. Four other demons rode behind him as he moved towards her, their swords drawn. She looked behind them, there were _thousands _of demons mustered and ready. She looked back as the General stopped, his horse snorting and stamping it's hooves as it got to the diagram in the sand. The General looked down at it and turned to a demon behind him.

"Looks like your brother is no longer with us, Malphas"

Aaah, so this was Malphas. She saw the hate in his eyes as he looked at her and she smiled sweetly at him "Guess this makes you an only child then huh?"

"BITCH!" he roared.

"Uh huh" she smiled again.

The General laughed "So you killed one of your own" he laughed nastily "You Banishers are no better than we are"

Jay cocked her head "Oh but we are. You see we _kill_ your kind…not just kill them…_destroy_ them. So that automatically puts us higher on the evolutionary ladder. You _know_ how dangerous we are to you, that's why you hunt us. Because you _fear _us. And you should _fear _us…because we will NOT stop until we get rid of you…ALL of you!" she looked past them to the army at their backs then returned her attention to the General and grinned "I'll be putting in for overtime"

"Where are your brother and Warrior?" he demanded.

"Oh, they had a previous engagement, they send their apologies for not being here…but Zeke hasn't had pizza in like…forever …so…" she shrugged.

He laughed "So they left you here? Left you here to suffer. Left you here to be tortured…or did they not know you are now bound here?" he laughed again "Oh, they didn't know did they?" he stopped as he finally realised and Jay smiled at him.

"That's right"

The General turned back to Malphas "You KNEW! Lothar was right!"

Malphas looked at the General confused "Right? I don't know what you're talking about General"

It clicked to Jay that Sam had been messing with the General and Malphas, well she could do that too "Yeah, he does. He sacrificed his brother to make you look inept, so the big horny-dude..." she laughed "horny-dude…"

"NO!!" yelled Malphas.

"Oh get off your high-horse there Malphas" she grinned and looked at the General "You lackey here organised this so that your _boss _would get pissed at you and …_ta-da_…new General to run the army"

Malphas was shaking his head "No! She lies!"

Jay rolled her eyes "I _can't _lie here, you _idiot._ And why else would I do a banishing in Hell? Out of spite? Do you really think I'd trap myself here…"

"NO! The one called Sam Winchester was dead!"

"Nope. Alive and kicking and he kicked Lothar's arse right out of him, just like you told him to. Now you hold to your side of the bargain Malphas, un-bind me and open the Gates"

Malphas was shaking his head vigorously "She lies! There was NO deal…NO bargain! I swear to you Kasdeya!"

Jay watched as the General motioned to a section of the army "Take him! Take him to the wastelands…he is BANISHED!"

"Hey! Copyright infringement!" said Jay with a grin. And she laughed as Malphas was dragged from his horse, screaming in protest and struggling to be free of his guards. Okay, well that was at least one demon she'd fucked over before she died. She understood there was no saving her, but she wasn't gonna go out begging for her life, she was gonna mess with these bastards as long as she could.

She rocked back and forth on her heels "Sooo….I'm guessing you're not gonna hold to Malphas' deal then?"

"WE MAKE NO DEALS WITH BANISHERS!" he roared at her.

"Bugger" she grinned.

"You _laugh?_ There is NO escape for you! You will live an _eternity _of torture! We will NOT let the madness overtake you! You will curse your brother's name! Curse the names of the warriors that left you here! You will be…"

She rolled her eyes at the demon "Yeah, yeah…stop your monologueing" she sighed "Lets get on with this shall we?" she raised her sword.

Kasdeya laughed at her "You think _one _Banisher can take on three legions? Not to mention Cerberus?"

Jay grinned "As much as like your puppy…I'm not in the mood to play fetch cause I'm pretty sure I'd be the stick right? As for your legions…who said I was taking on anyone?"

Kasdeya's eyes widened as he realised what she was about to do "STOP HER!" he yelled.

One of the demon horsemen galloped forward but his horse reared as he got to six feet away from her and fell, trapping the demon underneath it as it writhed, blood shooting out of its nose and eyes.

"Oh yeah, drew a pretty scary line in the sand. Kinda fatal if you lot try and cross it" she glared at Kasdeya "I will NOT be your prisoner! You will NOT have the satisfaction of torturing me!" she laughed and gave the General the finger as she raised her sword…

-------------------------

Zeke and Dean stared at George and Gus and the group of Native Americans at their backs in full ceremonial dress.

"What…" stammered Dean.

Gus smiled at him "You've been hard to track, Dean but I'm good at what I do. Figured you'd need some help…well Jay would. Found George the day after you left, we had a chat and I realised that Sam was a 'sleeper'…"

"She did the banishing in there?" asked George.

Zeke nodded "She's gone, George…"

George smiled at Zeke "Zeke, I am glad you are free but she is not lost…not yet"

"I know the _rules_, George. You do a banishing in Hell…" he shook his head "that magic isn't _allowed _there…she speaks that language in Hell it _binds _her to it. Do you _know_ what they'll do to her? Do you?"

Dean hung his head "She said…she…wouldn't allow it" he looked at Zeke "I'm so sorry"

Zeke shook his head "No! No…she wouldn't _do _that!"

"There is little time then" said George. He turned to the group behind him "Start" he turned back to Dean "You have the necklace?" Dean nodded and took it from around his neck "No, not that one. The other one"

"She gave it to Zeke, I think"

"No, Dean. The _other _one"

Dean looked confused for a moment, then reached into his pocket and took out the necklace that had the triangle and bat wings, the one he'd found at the house where Jay had met up with them "This one?"

George smiled "Yes. That one" he came over and took the satchel from around Dean's shoulders and passed it to one of the men who went to the side of the arroyo and started to place the ingredients around a small section of it.

"What are you doing, George?" asked Dean.

"We'll open a small door, you go in and you bring her out" he put the necklace round Dean's neck.

"You _can't!_ " said Zeke "She's trapped there!"

"No-one is ever truly trapped anywhere, Zeke" said George. He looked back to Dean "Did she save you, Dean?" Dean nodded "And how did she do that?"

Dean hung his head "She told me she loved me" he whispered "I heard her, through the lies… and …it bought me back"

"And you _left _her there, you bastard!" yelled Zeke.

"Did you say it back, Dean?"

"No, he fucking well didn't! Why would he?"

Dean looked at George "I did. She pushed me through the Gate and I told her" he sighed "I don't think she heard me"

George smiled "You were in the Gates when you said it?" he nodded "This is good" he helped Dean to his feet "Time to open the Gates, Dean"

"Me? I don't know how. Jay opened them, not me"

"Yes, you do Dean" and he led him over to the circle "Kneel…and concentrate…it will come"

"But…"

"It will come, Dean. Have faith" said George with a smile "Now go get her"

Dean knelt in the circle closed his eyes and concentrated, he heard the soft chanting of the Native Americans as they danced round the circle and his mind seemed to open and he heard himself begin to speak, speak in their tongue …he removed the necklace from round his neck and began the ritual to open the Gates.

----------------------

Jay closed her eyes and thought of Zeke, she knew he wouldn't understand why she'd done what she'd done but she could never repay Dean and Sam for saving him…well she could and she'd done it. Gladly done it. She trusted that Dean would watch out for Zeke, that both he _and_ Sam would. She just hoped that Zeke would forgive her, that in time he would forgive her.

She raised the sword and started the arc towards her neck. She heard the roar of the General as he realised he wouldn't have her and she smiled, _fuck you!_ she thought as she hung her head and the blade flashed towards the back of her neck.

-------------------

Dean looked up as he felt a rush of air hit him. There was a small piece of fractured air in front of him, there'd been no sound, nothing. He turned to George "How…"

George smiled "The Gate was never truly closed…you kept it open"

He nodded "How do I bring her back?" he slipped the necklace over his neck.

"You will know" said George "Now go…"

"Dean…" he looked over at Zeke "Bring her back…please"

Dean grinned "Won't come back without her" and he stepped through the Gates.

Dean ran quickly through the darkness, hoping Jay hadn't kept to her promise. He saw the darkness starting to fade and before he knew it, he was back in Hell. The Gate had been opened near the outcroppings and he saw the legions of demons stretching down into the wastelands, saw Cerberus straining at his leads and then he saw Jay, her sword raised as she started it's journey towards her neck. He ran. He heard the yells of the demons as they realised what she was going to do and his yell joined theirs.

He grabbed at her arm, stopping the sword inches from the back of her neck. She looked up at him and he grinned "Told you I'd be back"

"Dean….what? How…?" she stammered.

He grinned at her again "I'm a genius. Now let's go"

"Dean, I _explained _to you…."

"Yeah, well…like I said, _bullshit_…." he turned when he heard laughter.

"Well, well, well…" said Kasheya "Looks like we'll have _another _one to play with"

Dean looked at Jay "Who's the fugly dude?"

"I AM KASDEYA! GENERAL OF THE INFERNAL ARMY OF HELL! I .."

Jay grinned "He likes to monologue" she sighed and turned serious "Dean, you _have _to go back"

"Not without you. Now come on" he took her hand.

She pulled it free "No, Dean! I _can't _go back…I _told _you. Don't make this any harder…"

"Jay…I can get us back. _Both _of us…"

The General laughed "You cannot! She is _bound _here!"

"I WASN'T TALKING TO YOU, ASSHOLE!" he turned back to Jay "Trust me, Jay"

"Dean…"

"Do you love me? Do you, Jay?"

She rolled her eyes "Geez, did you come all the way here to make me say it again?"

He slapped her upside her head "Answer the question"

"OWWW! You right there?" she rubbed at her head.

"ENOUGH!" yelled Kasdeya.

"Shut the fuck up! We're talking! Do you mind?" he turned back to Jay "Now answer the question"

"GET THEM!" he yelled.

"I have had just about enough of you" said Dean, he reached quickly into his boot and threw his dagger at the General, it took him high in the chest and the demon roared. Dean turned back to Jay "Time to go" he grabbed her hand and dragged her towards the Gate.

"Dean…stop! I _can't _go back! If I could…I _would_…"

Dean continued to drag her towards the Gate as the Army marched forward, they hit the line that Jay had drawn and they collapsed in agony. Dean stared at them and turned to Jay.

She shrugged "Mojo"

They got to the Gate and Dean turned to her "Alright…I'm supposed to know how to get you back through…"

"You _can't_…"

"Don't make me slap you again, Jay"

She watched Dean as he stood deep in thought "Well? Any ideas, genius?"

"You are a pain in the ass, you know that?"

"RELEASE CERBERUS!" yelled Kasdeya.

Dean and Jay turned as the hound was released and he raced towards them, his three-heads barking and snapping wildly at those around him.

"Fuck it" said Dean and he grabbed Jay and stepped into the Gate…but it wouldn't allow her through. Dean pulled on her but the Gate repelled her every time.

"Let me go, Dean! Go back and get Zeke and Sam out of here!"

"NO! I promised Zeke I wouldn't come back without you" he pulled on her again but she still couldn't enter.

"DEAN! LET GO!" she turned and saw that Cerberus was almost upon them "DEAN! GO! _PLEASE!"_

"NO! I WON'T GO BACK WITHOUT YOU!"

"YOU HAVE TO!" she looked at him and smiled "Don't die on my account, Dean. I love you, okay? Now go"

"Not without you, Jay" he pulled on her again but it was no use, the Gates wouldn't allow her entry. He saw Cerberus bearing down on her and yelled "NO!"

"GO DEAN!"

"No! I love you! I won't leave you!" and she fell through the Gates and into his arms as Cerberus jaws snapped the air at the place she'd been standing moments before.

-----------------

Dean fell back through the other side of the Gate, pulling Jay through on top of him, the Gate closing with a loud crack the minute they were through. They looked up and into the grinning faces of Zeke, Sam, George, Gus and a whole heap of George's friends.

"Sorry we're late" said Jay with a smile "Someone here had trouble with three little words"

Dean laughed "Pain in the ass"

"That's four" she said.

He pulled her against him and kissed her "You're still a pain in the ass" he grinned "But I love you anyway"

She laughed, got to her feet and pulled him to his "Let's get the hell out of here"

She turned at the slap that hit the back of her head "Zeke…" she went and hugged him "Come on…let's go home"

**_To be continued..._**


	15. Epilogue

(Disclaimer: Don't own anything but this)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**To Hell and Back.**

**Epilogue.**

_One month later…_

They'd spent the last month at George's place as Zeke and Sam recovered from their injuries. Jay and Dean had spent most of their time looking after their brothers, with George's help, but it was something they wanted to do themselves. Both of them feeling responsible for what had happened to their brothers and using this time to atone for it as best they could.

Jay and Dean rarely spoke of that day in the desert and they hadn't said the words to each other again either…the words that had saved them. They didn't need to. It was understood. They expressed it the only way they knew how and that was fine with both of them (although George had said that if they 'expressed' themselves any louder, Dean would get an Indian name that matched Jay's. He'd just grinned and said he'd like that.)

When Zeke was finally well enough to move, they'd all packed their bags and loaded up the cars.

Jay and Dean were leaning against the fence that surrounded George's place, both of them wanting to say so much to each other but neither one knowing where to start.

"No fairy-tale ending for us, Dean" she smiled.

He laughed "You're no _Cinderella, _Jay"

She laughed softly "And you sure as shit ain't _Prince Charming'_ "

He took her hand but wouldn't look at her "Where are you going?"

She shrugged "Not sure. Just gotta disappear for a while" he nodded "You?"

He shrugged "Same"

They didn't say anything for a long time. Dean finally turned to her "If you and Zeke need us, you call and me and Sam will come. Understand?"

She smiled at him and nodded "Works the same way, Dean"

Zeke stuck his head out the car window "Time to go, Jay!"

She nodded "Give me a sec"

They stood and she took the necklace from around her neck and put it round Dean's "Don't you go opening any Gates with this alright?"

He laughed "Are you taking the piss?"

"Course" she looked at him "Alright, I better go before Zeke starts messing with the cd player"

"Jay…"

She shook her head "If I kiss you, I'm not gonna want to stop" she kissed his cheek "You watch your arse, Dean"

He nodded "You watch yours" he went to hug her, changed his mind and went to the Impala. He got in, gunned the engine and she smiled as she heard _AC/DC's Highway to Hell _blast from the speakers.

She watched as he sped off the property and turned back to her car. She stopped and turned back when she heard the Impala returning.

Dean pulled up and got out and walked towards her. Jay ran to him, throwing her arms round his neck and wrapping her legs around him as they kissed each other.

"You need _me, _Jay…you call…"

She kissed him again "I love you"

He smiled "I love you" and he put her down and walked back to the Impala. He turned back, and leant on the car's door "We did get the fairytale ending, Jay"

She turned from her Chevy and laughed "We did?"

He nodded "We survived going to Hell"

She smiled "And back"

They looked at each other one last time, got in their cars and roared off in different directions.

**_The End._**


End file.
